July 2, 2020
For Immediate Release
J.R. SIMPLOT COMPANY SUPPORTS VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE
$10,000 Grant Supports Emergency and Transitional Shelter Program and Supportive Services
Boise, ID – The Women’s and Children’s Alliance (WCA) has been awarded a grant of $10,000 from the J.R. Simplot Company to support emergency and transitional shelter services and the critical wraparound programming for those residing within the shelters.
This grant funding will provide opportunities for safety, freedom and healing to women and children in our community, those who perhaps are some of the most vulnerable – individuals fleeing domestic abuse and sexual assault.
During the last fiscal year alone, the WCA provided 11,132 “safe bed nights”. While in residence, these individuals had the opportunity to participate in the agency’s vast direct victim services array of program components designed to encourage self-reliance, enhance self-regard and to promote independence/personal safety.
Leaving an abusive relationship is often a high-risk decision. For many domestic violence victims, leaving means that they may not be able to immediately find safe housing or properly feed their children and keep them emotionally and physically safe. The National Coalition for the Homeless notes that a woman is 70 times more likely to be murdered in the few weeks after leaving her abusive partner than at any other time in the relationship. And in times like we are facing – an unprecedented global health pandemic, domestic violence rates are rising globally and locally.
“We are grateful for the ongoing support from the J.R. Simplot Company.,” said Bev La Chance, WCA Grant Director, “We are continuing to see increasing numbers of community members asking for help, with increasing numbers of emergency intakes into shelter – meaning the danger is high and it is real.”
Essential WCA program staff members are on-site at the secure domestic violence shelter campus, in the childcare, and at both the Ada County Courthouse and the WCA Crisis Center to assist with protection orders and facilitate safety planning sessions, while clinical and case management staff are providing services telephonically.
The WCA offers safe shelter, two 24-hotlines, counseling and support groups, court advocacy, financial empowerment and a variety of other integrated services and programs to women, men and children victimized by abuse.
About the WCA
The Women’s & Children’s Alliance provides safety, healing and freedom from domestic abuse and sexual assault. The WCA operates secure shelters and provides professional counseling, legal advocacy, crisis services and case management to survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. For more information, visit www.wcaboise.org.
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