WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Crime victims services groups across the state now have $32 million in grant money to use so they can continue to serve the most vulnerable in our communities.
This is all thanks to federal dollars from fines and penalties, as well as a small portion of state funds. A total of 56 grants have been distributed to 40 agencies in the Midlands totaling $13.7 million.
Sistercare in Lexington has four of those grants, totaling over $1 million. Their executive director, Ann Kita, tells News19 that money will go to several services.
"Emergency shelter, those basic needs and necessities, safety planning, crisis intervention, court advocacy. We respond out to the hospitals in reference to anybody coming in through ER who needs our services," Kita said.
She explains they get 10 - 25 calls a day and last year housed nearly 300, helping over 4,000 families and children with their services.
The Dickerson Children's Advocacy Center helps families and children in Lexington, Saluda, Edgefield and McCormick counties.
"I held my first rape victim's hand in 1995 and I just really never looked back and so after working in the sexual assault arena for a while I landed in West Columbia which is my home town," said Carol Yarborough, executive director of Dickerson Children's Advocacy Center.
Quite literally, this grant money will be changing lives for the better, changing violent environments to peaceful ones.
Richland county has 14 grants totaling $3.2M, Lexington county has 9 totaling $2M, Aiken county has 4 totaling $673,000 and Orangeburg county has 3 totaling $277,000.
"There is an army of men and women that you can see right now standing to my left and right and directly behind me, who are out there in your community, waiting for you to reach out to them, to call them, to lean on them. They serve to give a voice to the voiceless, power to the powerless and hope to the hopeless," said Alan Wilson, South Carolina attorney general.