BATESVILLE, IN — Safe Passage, Inc. was among 26 non-profits around the state to be awarded a total of $500,000 in grant funding from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) to provide emergency shelter and services to domestic violence victims and their dependents.
Safe Passage will receive $20,000 to provide items such as food, clothing, transportation, and shelter to survivors in crisis.
A complete list of recipients from around the state can be found here.
The funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program.
The goal of the program is to help offset the cost of certain operational expenses, so that other funding may be used to provide support services.
“Domestic violence shelters are there for people during some of the darkest moments in their lives,” said Devon McDonald, ICJI Executive Director. “They provide a safe haven in the community, and we’ll continue to use every tool at our disposal to reinforce the work they’re doing to care for those in need.”
Established in 1981, the SSBG program is a flexible funding source that allows states to tailor social service programming to address their needs. In Indiana, the funding is distributed to the Indiana Department of Child Services, which allocates a portion to ICJI to assist residential domestic violence programs.
“Providing access to safe accommodation and shelter, along with survivor-centered support, such as counseling and criminal justice resources, can break the cycle of violence and help people begin to recover,” said Kim Lambert, ICJI Victim Services Director. “The grant funding we’re releasing today is part of a larger strategy to increase access to those services.”
The grants were approved by the ICJI Board of Trustees earlier this month and will be made available to organizations starting in July.
Safe Passage was founded in 1997 and serves victims of domestic and sexual abuse in six Southeastern Indiana counties, and is in need of donations.
The agency is also raising funds for its Hand Bags 4 Hope purse auction. To learn more or to register, click here.
