Article posted in the RegisterCitizen.com - 07/18/2008By DAVID HUTTER  TORRINGTON - An agency that counsels and houses victims of domestic violence received $60,000 from another agency Wednesday. The Susan B. Anthony Project, an agency serving children and women victims of physical abuse, received the money from the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, a quasi-public organization based in Hartford.Based at 179 Water St. in Torrington, the Susan B. Anthony Project provides emergency services to residents of 20 area towns. It operates a shelter for abused women and children for up to 60 days at a time and provides transitional housing for people for a maximum period of two years, executive director Barbara Spiegel said. Founded in 1983, the agency houses about 12 people at any given time at the shelter, and provides transitional housing for about 12 to 14 people at any given time, she said. "We will use the money either to hire one full-time person or two part-time people to work at the shelter," Spiegel said. "We are an emergency shelter. We will use the money to add to our staff."

The Susan B. Anthony Project needs to raise a total of $135,000 in order to provide around-the-clock services at its emergency shelter, which is located at an undisclosed location, she said. The agency is gearing up to put on its "Tea for Two Hundred," its largest fund-raiser of the year, slated for July 26 in Washington, Conn.
"Victims of domestic violence have experienced some of the worst trauma imaginable," Kimberley Fontaine, grants manager at Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, said Thursday. "Twenty-four hour staffing of domestic violence shelters is critical to ensuring the safety and security of those adults and children seeking refuge within."

David Hutter can be reached by e-mail at  .