Senator Tony Hwang applauded the State Bond Commission’s approval of a $1.2 million grant-in-aid to make renovations and improvements to the Bridgeport-based The Center for Family Justice . The center provides services that strive to end domestic and sexual abuse and violence in communities by empowering hope, restoring lives and driving social change through education and community collaboration.
“For the past 15 years, I have witnessed the positive impact that the center makes on survivors and their extended family members. Unfortunately, we continue to see increased needs for domestic violence services and shelters in all communities,” said Hwang in a press release.
The funds will be used expand renovations to the center’s facility to services that assist individuals, youth and families affected by domestic violence, sexual violence and child abuse, Debra Greenwood, the center’s CEO/President stated in the press release.
The press release states that more than 43 million women and 38 million men have been the victim of psychological aggression by an intimate partner, according to the Centers For Disease Control. In the 2021 fiscal year, Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence served 38,989 victims and received 41,654 calls for help. Last year in Connecticut 2,950 domestic violence victims received housing support. Domestic violence shelters operated at 156 percent capacity in 2021. The average amount of time that a victim remained in a shelter was 51.1 days. Of those who received housing support, 100% of victims reported that their children felt safer and 93% said they felt safer, according to the CCADV.
Help is available 24/7 via call, email, text or live chat through CT Safe Connect at CTSafeConnect.org or 888-774-2900. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 800-799-SAFE.
