Tennessee residents might be interested to hear that a woman who was the victim of domestic violence herself formed a volunteer group known as the Purple Lotus Project. The group is intended to offer victims of domestic violence the help they need. The woman stated that when she sought help at Loraine County's woman's shelter, Genesis House, the curfew and maximum stay time wasn't sufficient for her.
After hearing the same complaints from other women, the woman was prompted to form the Purple Lotus Project. The group helps male victims of domestic violence as well. Some of the services that the group does includes escorting people to court, finding homes for their pets and organizing vigil services for people who are dead as a result of domestic violence.
The group is reportedly considering securing a building to convert to a shelter for victims of domestic violence. The group also wants their shelter to have armed security on the premises. The woman states that the group would need an annual budget of approximately $400,000 to run a shelter, which she believes is a realistic goal.
However, funding for such programs is reportedly scarce in the state. Currently, such groups do not receive money directly from the state, but rather only from county marriage license fees. Plus, both public and private funding for domestic violence programs is down. The director of Genesis House questions whether it makes sense for the Purple Lotus group to compete with Genesis House for funds at a time when funding is down. The Purple Lotus group contends that it does since it will offer more services to domestic violence victims.
Victims of domestic violence who want to seek a divorce might benefit from the services of a divorce attorney. A divorce attorney might be able to help victims get orders of protection against their spouses to help protect them while their divorce proceedings are in progress.
Source: Chronicle online, "Woman's experience with domestic violence leads her to form purple lotus", Evan Goodenow, June 10, 2013