Charlottesville-based group The Women’s Initiative received a $20,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation last week. The nonprofit aims to provide free assistance and counseling as well as education to women who are victims of abuse or suffering from mental health issues.
The grant will increase the amount of clients The Women’s Initiative is able to serve, Clinical Services Director Kirsten Franke said.
“What it allows us to do is increase the amount of clients we can serve through our outpatient counseling program, support group and workshops, and outreach education effort,” Franke said. “It will increase the number of women we can serve by 2,500 in this coming year.”
A donation of $5,000 typically provides 10 women with a full course of therapy. Support groups are available free of charge.
The Women’s Initiative works with similar programs and professional therapists, who work pro bono, to provide assistance and support to women in the Charlottesville area.
“We collaborate with two other partnering agents, SARA [Sexual Assault Resource Agency], and SHE [Shelter for Help in Emergency] ... to serve more women in the community and collaborate our efforts,” Franke said.
Franke also said the program run by The Women’s Initiative serves a group of women which is diverse in both age and socioeconomic status.
“Most of our clients are between 25 and 45,” Franke said. “[We] serve women who are grad students, college students, women who are working and supporting a family, single mothers, elderly women who are retired.”
The Women’s Initiative provides clinics in addition to counseling services, with an overarching goal to empower women in the realm of personal growth.
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