Article:$420,000 awarded to domestic violence programs

RICHMOND — Grants totaling $420,000 for local domestic violence programs were announced Thursday and Friday.

U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Sixth District, came Friday to the Madison County Courthouse to announce a $400,000 grant that will aid the Richmond Police Department and other first responders, as well as the Hope’s Wings Domestic Violence Program, in protecting victims and prosecuting offenders.

A grant of $20,000 from the Mary Kay Foundation will allow Hope’s Wings to re-open two rooms of its domestic violence shelter known as the Marilyn Isaacs House, according to Robyn Moreland, Hope’s Wings director.

The shelter has been closed since the end of February 2010, even as Hope’s Wings provided other services.

The Mary Kay grant was announced Thursday evening during a “These Hands Don’t Hurt” rally and march.

“This grant is such a blessing to Hope’s Wings in a variety of ways,” said Dr. Linda Fagan, Hope’s Wings board chair. “Not only does it make up for a deficit in funding this year but also gives us hope and strength to continue what we do. Domestic violence is not going away and deserves very serious attention. Programs to help battered women and their children require a lot of resources.”

Moreland and Richmond Mayor Jim Barnes were on hand Friday to thank Chandler.

With governments at all levels struggling financially, Chandler said grants such as he was announcing are not easily obtained.

“This grant is a testimony to what you have done and what you proposed to do in your grant application,” Chandler said. “Your mission of mercy is so important.”

When he was Kentucky attorney general, Chandler said his office was involved in the fight against domestic violence and he knew the extent and magnitude of the program.

The grant will enable the police department to hire a person to work with victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, Moreland said. It also will provide funding to create a local team that will coordinate efforts among agencies in their efforts to combat domestic violence, from enforcing emergency protective orders to counseling victims and assisting prosecutors, she said.

RPD Chief Larry Brock said his officers responded to more than 600 domestic violence calls last year.

“We also know that many cases go unreported,” he said.

Brock thanked Hope’s Wings, the county sheriff’s office and the Kentucky State Police, who work to assist and protect domestic violence victims. Domestic violence is a countywide problem and requires a coordinated, countywide response, he said.

A woman who said she probably would not be alive without the help of Hope’s Wings also spoke at the announcement. A college-educated corporate executive reared in a non-violent family, she was subjected to domestic violence as an adult.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen to me,” she said.

Without the safety and advocacy provided by Hope’s Wings, “I would be a dead woman today,” she said, calling herself a survivor and not a victim.

Domestic abuse claimed 54 lives in Kentucky last year, three of them in Madison County, she said.

With the resources of the grants, the county can work to reduce that number to zero, she said.

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@ richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.