Mary Kay Foundation awards $20,000 grant to Safe Futures

Safe Futures, formerly Women’s Center of Southeastern Connecticut, the local domestic violence and sexual assault service agency for New London County, received a $20,000 grant from The Mary Kay Foundation.

In observation of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, Mary Kay awards $20,000 grants to more than 150 domestic violence shelters across the country for a total of $3 million.

Safe Futures will use the grant to provide critical support for its Genesis House emergency shelter operations. Genesis House provides a free, safe haven for women and their children who are leaving an abusive relationship. Residents share a kitchen, dining room, children’s play-room, quiet room, common living room and bathrooms in a secure, confidential location. Agency staff are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Genesis House has 15 beds and has operated at over 100 percent capacity for the past two years as a result of increased demand for safe shelter.

“Mary Kay Foundation continues to make a huge impact for survivors of domestic violence,” says Catherine Zeiner, Executive Director of Safe Futures. “To us, it means we can continue to provide safe shelter to more than one hundred women and children this year, along with the supportive and nurturing environment families need to heal from abuse and to begin the difficult work of starting over.”