Did you know that violence against women is being referred to as the “shadow pandemic”? There’s good reason for this: Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic abuse has intensified.

 

Over the past couple of years, the Women’s Support Center has received an unprecedented number of hotline calls and requests for our shelter and other services. The situation was only made worse by the 2020 Artsakh War. We continue to direct much of our resources to providing essential goods and services to displaced women and children.

 

We operate the only 2 shelters specifically catered toward women and children victims of domestic violence in all of Armenia. We have shelter spaces for up to 60 women and children, and our shelters are often at full capacity. Overcrowded in ordinary times, we put measures into place to accept women and children all throughout the pandemic, which has required us to spend additional resources on COVID-19 tests and transportation.

 

The women and children who stay at our shelters have a safe space in which to rehabilitate. They receive 3 warm meals a day along with household and hygienic items, and they have access to private bedrooms, shared living spaces, and playrooms for children.

 

But the shelter isn’t just a roof over their heads. During their stay, women learn about domestic violence and safety planning and work with our social workers, psychologists, and lawyers to address urgent and ongoing needs for themselves and their children.

 

You can help save a life this holiday season.

 

$5 covers a day’s worth of meals for one family.

$50 covers the cost of hygienic and household products for one family for an entire month.

$150 covers a month’s worth of meals for one family.

$200 covers a month’s worth of meals as well as hygienic and household items for one family.

$250 pays for a month’s rent for a family transitioning out of the shelter.

$300 pays for one family to receive professional support from social workers, psychologists, and lawyers for an entire month.

 

Join us today and make a difference in the lives of women and children across Armenia and Artsakh.

 

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About the Women’s Support Center

 

The WSC has been the premier domestic violence center in Armenia for over a decade. We offer a 24-hour hotline, psychological counseling, safe houses, life and parenting skills education, vocational counseling, legal assistance, professional training, and other educational programs, providing comprehensive services to 350 beneficiaries annually, including 70 shelter residents. We train hundreds of service providers across the country and work to strengthen the institutional domestic violence response. Today, many of our beneficiaries are living free of abuse and are proud spokespersons for combating domestic abuse, which has had a powerful ripple-effect on the larger public.

 

*Please note that the Tufenkian Foundation will transfer all funds collected directly to the WSC.