Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Community Foundation has granted $10,000 through the VT COVID-19 Response Fund to Voices Against Violence, a program of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO). This program addresses domestic and sexual violence and stalking through direct service, education, and systems change. This includes Laurie’s House, a shelter for survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their children, transitional living apartments, hotline and chat line, supervised visitation, advocacy, and education programs for the general public on domestic and sexual violence.
The VT COVID-19 Response Fund is designed to support nonprofits that are particularly equipped to address basic needs and community impacts of the pandemic in Vermont, for which Voices is a great match. The Fund is supported by VCF’s own grant making resources as well as by generous contributions from funders.
“When the Governor shut down the state, Voices had to quickly adapt to provide many of our support services remotely. We increased our technological capacity to allow for an array of options for survivors and advocates to connect safely, such as a chat line. I am proud of our quick response while holding safety as paramount,” says Voices Kris Lukens.
In 2020, staff at Voices received more than 1,600 calls to the hotline; 474 victims/survivors were served including 68 children; 88 families were sheltered in Laurie’s House and motels for a total of 4041 nights, and 6 families were served in our Transitional Housing Program. Voices staff members supervised 633 visits, helping families to navigate separation, divorce, custody, and court orders, compounded by violence in the relationship, to find support and safety.
CVOEO’s mission is to address the fundamental issues of economic, social, and racial justice and to work with people to achieve economic independence. The community members CVOEO serves are single mothers, elderly, veterans, underemployed and unemployed, disabled, and refugees.
Source: St. Albans, VT. 4.12.2021. CVOEO www.cvoeo.org