Dillon- The Women’s Resource Center and the Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) recently received a grant to the Women’s Resource Center from the Office of Violence Against Women Rural Domestic Violence program in the amount of $327,918, to be disbursed over three years.
This funding has helped MLSA hire attorney Bree Williamson, a resident of Dillon, to provide comprehensive legal services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence for referrals from the Women’s Resource Center. Ms. Williamson will work in the Women’s Resource Center offices in Dillon.
Last year, the Women’s Resource Center worked with 129 survivors in the Beaverhead and Madison Counties. Services the Women’s Resource Center provides includes crisis intervention, counseling and advocacy, safe shelter, emergency financial and material assistance, civil legal and criminal justice advocacy and representation, court accompaniment, hospital and law enforcement accompaniment, and safety planning. MLSA helped 2,341 survivors and their children statewide in 2016, providing representation and help with orders of protection, property settlement, child support, and other domestic violence related civil legal matters. One landmark study has concluded that the single most important factor in determining whether a woman escapes domestic abuse is her access to civil legal services. The collaboration between the Women’s Resource Center and MLSA will help reach even more individuals experiencing domestic violence and provide them with more comprehensive legal services.
The Women’s Resource Center strives to provide opportunities to enrich the quality of people's lives in Beaverhead and Madison Counties and promotes non-violent, non-confrontational solutions to conflict by providing crisis intervention, ongoing supportive advocacy, and community education and awareness.
MLSA is a non-profit statewide law firm that empowers low-income people by providing legal information, advice, and other services free of charge. Civil legal aid from MLSA assures fairness for all in the justice system, regardless of how much money a person has, and helps Montanans protect their livelihoods, their health, and their families.