Advocates food drive Friday; need is greater than ever

With talk that lawmakers might cut funding to state shelters, Advocates to End Domestic Violence Director Lisa Lee has reason to be concerned about the coming year.

"We've heard the Legislature will look at cutting funding to shelters for TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). That's $170,000 for us, and that's going to devastate us," Lee said. "That's all the food and most of the utilities and maybe one layoff."

According to Lee, an average number of 30 women and children are housed in Carson City's Advocates to End Domestic Violence shelter every night. The typical person seeking relief from an abusive relationship is 33 years old, has two children under the age of 5, no car, no public assistance funds and no job.

"She's basically a stay-at-home mom who is starting over from square one," Lee said.

The need for food collected during the organization's annual food drive, therefore, is more critical than ever, she said.

"This has become instrumental to supplementing our food throughout the year," she said.

Advocates to End Domestic Violence is participating in the 18th annual Share Your Holiday Food Drive from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday at the Governor's Mansion on Mountain Street.

"We'd like to collect 10,000 pounds of food this year," Lee said. "Even if you've never been needy, if you can just imagine what it would be like, you can give a generous donation."

Lee encourages people to go through their cupboards or to pick up a few extra items next time they are at the store to donate to the food drive.There will be about 100 volunteers throughout the day, and people can just drive up on their way to work or during their lunch hour for speedy drop-off.

Besides canned goods, the shelter also has a great need for toilet tissue, paper towels, and especially diapers.