Domestic violence victims sometimes have to decide whether to stay in a situation they find dangerous, or leave, maybe with no other safe place to go, sometimes with children as part of the decision.

Grays Harbor County has received a federal grant to provide transitional housing in instances such as that and will work with the non-profit Domestic Violence Center of Grays Harbor to administer the funds.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a $134,897 annually renewable grant. The funds come from HUD’s Continuum of Care program.

The County will be expanding a project with the Domestic Violence Center of Grays Harbor “to provide transitional housing and intensive ongoing supportive services for an additional eight survivors and their families” beginning this spring, according to a release from Grays Harbor County Public Health and Social Services.

“We are very excited about expanding this program that has been a dream of our agency for a long time,” said Gloria Callaghan, executive director of the Domestic Violence Center. “These funds will allow us to serve more families we work with at our shelter or advocacy services to ensure they don’t have to choose between an unhealthy relationship and safe housing. The Domestic Violence Center is excited to be a partner with Grays Harbor County to make sure we can give these survivors the resources they need.”

“We are grateful for the support of our leadership and critical community partners who helped design and strengthen our application as well as their commitment to provide services to leverage these dollars,” said Curtis Steinhauer, housing resource coordinator for Grays Harbor County Public Health and Social Services. “This is an exciting opportunity to expand a very successful program, and our Housing Coalition has continually identified it as a gap and priority. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to invest these funds in our area and look forward to sharing about the positive outcomes to our community.”