The Gatehouse receives Texas Bar Foundation grant to fund legal assistance to survivors of domestic and economic abuse
The Gatehouse, an initiative of the 501(c)(3) projectHandUp, has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to provide legal services to women trapped in the legal and economic complexity of abuse by an intimate partner.
The availability to quality legal assistance is key to remove the obstacles that prevent them from breaking free of crisis situations to become self-supportive, the Grapevine-based organization said in a news release.
Almost 90 percent of Gatehouse women have experienced domestic abuse, with almost all facing related severe economic hardships and risk of homelessness as well.
Multiple barriers keep women from starting a new life: financial problems or abuser-controlled money; legal or child-custody entanglements; and the lack of a career living wage job, reliable transportation, or childcare, the news release said.
Economic models published by the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey predict an inverse relationship between rates of domestic abuse and women’s alternatives outside of their relationships. As battered women’s economic opportunities improve, they are better able to exit violent relationships and situations, The Gatehouse said.
“We turn hope into reality by addressing all the interconnected barriers abused and disadvantaged women face to be mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially independent. We graduate emotionally and independent self-supportive women with sustainable career-path jobs, reduced or no debt, and ample savings,” the organization said.
www.gatehousegrapevine.com
– FWBP Staff