As part of California's state budget, $5 million will be allocated to the state's many domestic violence organizations for community outreach programs.
Recent data shows that every month, an average of 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner.
Marilyn Simon-Gersuk, Executive Director with Domestic Violence Solutions, says the additional funds would allow her team to hire an Outreach Director to work within the community on a full-time basis.
"Everywhere from laundry mats where we could find victims we could help be a service to, to school events where we can be boothing at back-to-school night where we could let people know that we are here in the community," Simon-Gersuk told KSBY.
Additionally, Jane Pomeroy, Chief Communications Officer with Lumina Alliance, says if domestic violence is present in a home, the risk of homicide increases about 500% if there is a firearm.
Pomeroy says her staff has not been able to meet the increasing demand of domestic violence calls that come into the Lumina Alliance offices.
"We have about a 9 to 12-month wait list for therapy services and our crisis line is ringing off the hook," Pomeroy added.
She too says statewide funding of their outreach programs would expand Lumina Alliance's presence among the communities they serve.
"We certainly see folks coming to us who say their abuse partner has a gun in their home, they are afraid, and we will help them call law enforcement if that’s what they’d like to do," she said.
Pomeroy also says Lumina has three emergency shelters, a transitional housing unit, as well as a robust domestic violence prevention organization program offered to those seeking help.
Along with the funds allocated for domestic violence outreach, an additional $5 million will be used for a statewide education program, directed to communities most at risk of gun violence.
The last million dollars in Governor Gavin Newsom's plan to prevent gun violence includes $1 million for education and training for California's district attorneys and law enforcement groups.
