GREENFIELD — The Resilience Center of Franklin County is preparing to launch one of its most ambitious prevention efforts to date after being chosen as one of 23 organizations in Massachusetts to receive a state grant aimed at reducing domestic violence through education and community efforts.
The Greenfield-based nonprofit, which supports survivors of domestic and sexual violence, will receive a two-year grant that can be renewed for another eight, giving the organization $200,000 a year. The initiative will be carried out in partnership with the Rural Network to End Domestic Violence and the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
For Executive Director Amanda Sanderson, the news came as an unexpected but welcome surprise.
“We thought the decision was supposed to come out in March,” she said. “When we didn’t hear anything, we assumed we hadn’t been chosen. Then we got the news in June. The grant partners and I are thrilled.”
The local funding allocation is part of a total of $4.5 million being distributed through the state’s new Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention Grant Program. Managed by the Office of Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention, the multi-year initiative supports community-based organizations that are developing, expanding and sustaining programs that strengthen mental health and well-being across Massachusetts.
Grant funding ranges from $100,000 to $350,000 annually. Applicants submitted proposals focused on a series of priority areas: promoting population well-being through education, training and skills development; reducing loneliness and social isolation; reducing family stress and supporting caregiver well-being; promoting infant, early childhood and maternal mental health; reducing psychological distress in immigrant populations; promoting early intervention with youth and young adults; and reducing family and intimate partner violence.
The funding heading to the Resilience Center of Franklin County aligns closely with one of the organization’s long-term strategic goals: expanding prevention education throughout rural western Massachusetts. While the center, formerly called the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition (NELCWIT), already provides school workshops on healthy relationships and warning signs of abuse, the grant will allow the organization to dramatically increase its reach by hiring 1.5 dedicated staff members who will focus entirely on prevention and education.
At the heart of the new initiative is the creation of a Teen Domestic Violence Task Force, a program unlike anything the organization has previously offered. The groundwork for outreach will begin in the fall.
Participating students will receive training on topics including healthy relationships, consent, boundaries and coercive control before designing projects to educate their classmates and communities. Sanderson hopes empowering young people to become peer leaders will help prevent abusive relationships before they begin.
“We firmly believe that if we can start talking about relationship health early, we can have an impact on the number, length and severity of domestic violence situations,” she shared.
The task force will spend its first year training participants and developing community projects before culminating in a regional youth summit during the second year. Organizers hope the event will bring together as many as 200 teenagers from across western Massachusetts.
Rather than building the program from scratch, the Resilience Center of Franklin County will draw on decades of experience from established domestic violence advocates and regional task forces that have successfully implemented similar youth initiatives.
The grant comes at a critical time for the organization, whose annual budget is majority grant-funded. Sanderson said collaboration between agencies was a major factor in securing the funding, allowing organizations across Franklin County and neighboring regions to work together toward a common goal.
While the new funding focuses on prevention, the Resilience Center of Franklin County continues to confront the everyday realities faced by survivors seeking help. Sanderson said many clients struggle not only with the emotional trauma of abuse, but also with the overwhelming practical barriers to rebuilding their lives. Completing lengthy housing applications, navigating court systems and gathering documentation can become nearly impossible while coping with trauma, she said, particularly for survivors experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries resulting from abuse.
Economic abuse also leaves many survivors with few options.
“People love to ask why someone didn’t leave,” Sanderson said. “Maybe they looked at the reality and they need $8,000 to move somewhere, and they don’t have $8,000.”
Finding affordable housing remains one of the greatest challenges, she added, with limited shelter availability and long waits for rental assistance creating additional obstacles for people trying to escape dangerous situations. Last year, although the Resilience Center of Franklin County served slightly fewer clients than in 2024, the amount of financial assistance each client required nearly doubled due to rising housing and living costs.
Despite those challenges, Sanderson remains optimistic that educating young people will create lasting cultural change throughout the region.
She hopes conversations about healthy relationships become commonplace among students, parents and community members alike, making it easier for people to recognize warning signs, support loved ones and intervene when concerning behavior appears.
For survivors, simply knowing their community cares can make all the difference.
“When we hold events and people show up, survivors always say it was so moving to have people come out and show their support,” Sanderson said.
She also encourages residents who are interested in becoming part of that support network to participate in the existing Franklin County Domestic Violence Task Force, which is open to the public.
Anyone seeking help for themselves or someone they know can contact the Resilience Center of Franklin County’s free, confidential 24-hour crisis line at 413-772-0806. More information is available at rcfcma.org.
