The Ion Center for Violence Prevention has received a grant of $50,000 from The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation in honor of Margaret Jane McKay.
“Mom was well aware of the devastating impact domestic violence has not only on individual families, but on our community as a whole,” said Bernie McKay, President and CEO of the Haile Foundation. “The Ion Center is committed to shifting the cultural norms to create a society where violence isn’t tolerated, and Mom wholeheartedly supported their work in eradicating domestic violence and building strong resilient families.”
At the Ion Center, prevention reaches across all aspects of the agency, services, and community engagement.
“Everything we do at Ion is either preventing violence from happening or from getting worse,” said Christy Burch, Ion Center CEO. “At the root of power-based personal violence is a loss of power. In working with survivors of trauma, they experience a complete loss of control due to abuse. We operate all services and programs through three levels of prevention: primary prevention, secondary prevention and tertiary prevention. Not only are we trying to help those who have already been impacted, but to keep it from ever happening in the first place.”
In 2021 and 2022, the Ion Center provided 25,589 bed nights, 73,767 meals, 13,602 hours of crisis intervention services, offered support on 6,117 hotline calls and 764 text conversations, provided 762 hours of hospital advocacy responding to 366 emergency room calls, fostered 38 pets for 4,345 bed nights, provided bystander trainings to students and community members, and so much more.
“Grants like this allow the Ion Center to provide services to the people who need it most,” Burch said. “We are not only grateful for this grant, but for the continued support and partnership of the Haile Foundation.”
“Talk about transformation,” she said. “Mrs. McKay experienced so much and raised her amazing family. She inspired such generosity and service leadership and it’s something to aspire to every day.”
The Ion Center offers free, confidential support and services to victim-survivors of all identities who have experienced power-based personal violence such as sexual violence, intimate partner violence, child abuse, and/or stalking.
The Ion Center for Violence Prevention
