South Suburban Family Shelter (SSFS) has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Mary Kay Foundation to further the organization’s efforts to combat domestic violence and provide rehabilitation services throughout the South Suburbs and the Chicago metro region.
“At SSFS, we are incredibly grateful for support from the Mary Kay Foundation and its continued commitment to break the cycle of domestic violence,” said SSFS Executive Director Jennifer Gabrenya.
The award was made during October marking Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
SSFS will use the grant funding to help provide emergency shelter and supportive services to families who have fled their homes in danger of their lives and the lives of their children.
Funds will be used to pay for the hotel/motel expenses, food and supplies while victims are in shelter; the transportation to/from a shelter; and the salary of the crisis intervention staff that go to the shelter locations to provide safety planning, counseling, advocacy and referral services to victims while in emergency shelter.
SSFS provides services in the South Suburbs, Will County and areas of Chicago. Services for victims of domestic violence and their children include a 24-hour bilingual hotline, emergency shelter, crisis intervention, individual and group counseling for adult victims, individual counseling for child victims/witnesses, family counseling for victims and their children, parenting classes, court advocacy and medical advocacy.
All services are available in Spanish and English. Services to victims are provided free of charge.
SSFS, based in Homewood, was one of more than 700 domestic violence shelters nationwide that applied for the Mary Kay Foundation shelter grants this year, according to Anne Crews, board member of the Mary Kay Foundation and vice president of public affairs for Mary Kay Inc. She said work to prevent and end domestic violence is a cornerstone of the foundation.