CUOMO AWARDS $2 MILLION TO CENTER FOR BATTERED WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN IN PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA

WASHINGTON - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today awarded a $2 million grant to a center for battered women and their children in Palm Desert, California, to fund housing assistance, counseling, job training and other programs.

Cuomo made the announcement after meeting with Congresswoman Mary Bono, who represents Palm Desert.

Shelter From the Storm, which will receive the funds from HUD's Neighborhood Initiatives program, is a non-profit transitional housing center. It is the only provider of shelter and comprehensive domestic violence services for homeless, battered women and their children in eastern Riverside County's rural, underserved Coachella Valley.

"Domestic violence is a tragedy that causes physical, psychological, and economic damage to far too many women and children," Cuomo said. "We should help those most in need by helping them escape abuse and giving them the opportunity for a new way of life."

"I am thrilled that Secretary Cuomo made this grant a priority and that this funding will help so many victims of domestic violence," Bono said. "These funds will allow Shelter From the Storm to provide the desperately needed services that will assist deserving families and their children."

Community agencies will provide off-site supportive services to help women living at Shelter From the Storm get jobs and support themselves. Services include education and employment assistance through the CalWORKS GAIN program, vocational training at the College of the Desert, and child care services through the College of the Desert Day Care Center and other child care providers.

Last year, Shelter From the Storm's crisis line responded to more than 1,600 domestic violence-related calls. During this same period, Coachella Valley law enforcement agencies filed close to 3,000 domestic violence police reports. The local Victim/Witness Program reports that domestic violence cases represent over half their caseload and that 31 Coachella Valley families lost a family member due to domestic violence. It is estimated that 50 percent of the homeless population are women and children fleeing from domestic violence.

Content Archived: January 20, 2009