Shelter for Battered Women Wins Reprieve

The only center for battered women in Santa Clarita, on the verge of shutting its doors a few months ago due to financial difficulties, was awarded a $30,000 grant Thursday, enough to keep the program operating for about a year, a shelter spokeswoman said.

Announcement of the grant by the United Way was the first encouraging news in many months for the Assn. to Aid Victims of Domestic Violence, which has provided counseling and shelter for battered women for eight years in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The association had high hopes of receiving a $250,000 state grant this spring, but those hopes were dashed in April when Federal Express failed to deliver the application to Sacramento overnight, missing the deadline.

Federal Express officials apologized for the computer-caused delay--it took two days to deliver the package from Van Nuys to Sacramento--and in a letter urged state officials not to reject the association’s application.

“Please be assured this is not an example of the quality service we want to provide our customers, nor is it acceptable,” the letter said.

But officials with the Office of Criminal Justice Planning said they could not accept the application. There was no guarantee that the association would have received the grant, but center officials said their proposal met all 13 criteria for receiving it.

Financial setbacks forced the association to scale back its programs in January. The shelter now has only two part-time counselors who see clients one or two days a week, said Robin Shine Ackerman, a member of the association’s board of directors. In the past, counselors were available five days a week, she said.

Volunteers have handled administrative duties at the center for five months. The grant will allow the center to hire an executive director to oversee operations and continue fund-raising.

The center is supported by fees, a variety of grants and income from a thrift shop run by the association. It serves women who have been beaten or verbally abused by their husbands or boyfriends.

The association asked Federal Express to reimburse the center for the lost grant. “We are still pursuing the matter with Federal Express, but I can’t say any more than that at the moment,” Ackerman said.

Meanwhile, the association continues to seek funds. The latest grant application must be submitted by 5 p.m. today in Los Angeles, Ackerman said. “We’re going to hand-carry it,” she said.