KCTV 5Jackson County awards grants to domestic violence shelters

Wednesday, survivors of domestic violence got a big show of support from local authorities and they say that support is going to make a big difference as those victims rebuild their lives.  

In the first six months of 2011, there were more than 250 cases of domestic violence in Jackson County and those are just the cases that were reported.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that prosecutors say Rufus Young shot and killed his ex-girlfriend, 36-year-old Naushay Riley and her mother, 55-year-old Jackie, right in front of Riley's two little boys.
Investigators say Riley, who was working on her master's degree and working full time at the health department, had just finished applying for an order of protection from Young.

Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders said stories like Riley's are all too common and that's why three checks were presented to three women's shelters Wednesday. The Rose Brooks Center, Hope House and New House were each given $26,350 to help them continue on with the life saving and critical work they do. Sanders said, every day three women are killed by a partner and shelters say violence against women is growing.

"Over the last few years we've been consistently full.  We have 80 plus beds, 25 cribs and you can count on them being full, or nearly full, almost every day," said Leslie Caplan with New House.

The Jackson County Domestic Violence Fund money will go a long way to help a lot of women and their children, but they still need help. 

"The dollars from corporations, funding sources, individuals, has been tight over the past three years because of the economy," said Caplan. 

Anyone who would like to volunteer their time or make a donation to any of the shelters can follow the links below. 

For more information on New House and their domestic violence program, click here. 

For more information on Rose Brooks Center, click here or click here for the Hope House.

Copyright 2011 KCTV. All rights reserved.