Earlier this month, Dignity Health donated $75,000 to Lumina Alliance, a non-profit that provides help and services for domestic violence and sexual abuse survivors in San Luis Obispo County.
Lumina Alliance noted uncertainty in future donations at the federal level and the President and CEO of Dignity Health Central Coast, Sue Anderson, said this money is crucial for victims facing the ongoing cycle of domestic violence.
“Lumina Alliance is very important to Dignity Health as far as we collaborate on domestic violence issues [and] patients in our emergency department," Anderson said. "We had some funds that we were able to designate for one nonprofit. We thought because they do so much for us that we would help them out with this."
The $75,000 is going to support services ranging from prevention to transitional housing for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, one in four women and one in seven men aged 18 and older in the U.S. have been the victim of domestic violence in their lifetime. Intimate partner violence alone affects more than 12 million people every year.
"Domestic abuse and intimate partner violence always peak during the holidays due to stress, families being home from work and school, and financial burden and sexual assault peaks on New Year's Eve," said April Cole, Lumina Alliance Director of Communications.
“Over the holidays, for a variety of reasons, whether it's domestic violence or just mental health issues, the holidays seem to bring that out in people," Anderson said.
Lumina Alliance team members also work with Dignity Healthcare workers in their emergency department, holding training sessions and assisting with the hospital’s Sexual Abuse Response Team, from which survivors can seek treatment and work with the nonprofit after they’re discharged from the hospital.
