Hyde County Hotline receives $20,000 Mary Kay Foundation grant

Published 1:04 pm Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Hyde County Hotline recently received a $20,000 unrestricted grant to support local survivors of domestic violence in Hyde County.

The award was part of the Mary Kay Foundation’s $3 million in grants to 150 domestic violence shelters across the country.

“At Mary Kay, we believe in helping women improve their circumstances and live their best lives,” said Foundation President Michael Lunceford. “One in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, and it is our responsibility to support the women’s shelters that aid these survivors.”

“The need for shelter services in Hyde County is tremendous,” explained Alisa Greer, Hyde Hotline’s

Client Services Advocate. “Between January 1 and November 30, 2018 Hyde County Hotline served 126 victims of domestic violence in person and received 584 domestic violence related crisis calls. We also served 84 victims of sexual assault in person and received 601 sexual assault related crisis calls.”

Kathryn Ballance, Executive Director of Hyde County Hotline, said:  “Hyde County Hotline is very blessed to have received this generous grant of $20,000 from the Mary Kay Foundation, and we are very grateful. Our agency continues to provide compassionate services to all victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Hyde County. The challenges we face are unique to the geographical isolation and distressed economy of our area, and grants such as the one we have received from the Mary Kay Foundation are critically important to our ability to assist victims.”

The Mary Kay Foundation was created in 1996 and its two-fold mission includes funding women’s cancer research and ending domestic violence. Over the course of more than two decades, The Mary Kay Foundation has awarded more than $78 million to women’s shelters and domestic violence service providers, as well as cancer research programs and related causes throughout the United States.

The purpose of Hyde County Hotline is to work to eliminate domestic abuse and sexual victimization and provide safe shelter in Hyde County through the collaborative efforts of a compassionate community.

“We promote dignity, respect and safety at home resulting in safer communities. In addition to safe shelter Hyde County Hotline provides crisis intervention, advocacy, safety planning, court advocacy, financial planning, assistance in obtaining further education and referrals to counseling for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault,” Greer explained.