It’s perhaps easy to believe that domestic and sexual violence is found only where there is great poverty, that affluence is a safeguard against it. But this scourge can occur anywhere. Any city. Any community. Any home.
In the words of Jayne Evans, Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence board member, “It knows no ZIP code.”
Evans spoke briefly Monday, Feb. 23, during the annual Betty Griffin Center Breakfast at The Plantation at Ponte Vedra Beach. She is a former board member of the organization.
She reported that, out of the more-than-100 counties in the United States with populations greater than 300,000, St. Johns County alone had no homicides last year. She credited the work of a task force comprised of the Betty Griffin Center, the Department of Children and Families, the State Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Office, singling out the latter for special mention.
This is especially significant as, nationally, there were about 1,500 deaths related to domestic violence in 2025.
But fatalities only tell part of the story. One in three women and one in six men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. That’s a lot of people.
Kirsten A. Martino, president-elect for the Women’s Giving Alliance (WGA), gave an account of that organization’s generous support of the Betty Griffin Center, going back to 2004 when it made its first gift of $65,000 for new technology.
Further grants awarded in subsequent years included $112,000 toward a rape crisis center, $130,000 for one of the center’s programs, $100,000 for a unique program that combines both treatment for substance abuse and service related to domestic violence and sexual abuse, $5,000 in the wake of Hurricane Irma, $50,000 for a children’s therapist, another $50,000 to support the direct needs of abuse survivors and $125,000 to support the comprehensive approach to preventing violence before it begins, providing crisis intervention to women and girls impacted by violence and to foster long-term healing and independence for survivors.
Altogether, WGA has granted the center about $640,500 since 2004.
The center has also been supportive of the alliance and participated in its efforts.
“To know Betty Griffin as a WGA member is truly a gift,” said Martino, “and I believe that it fosters a deep commitment to our community.”
Bryan Rendzio, Betty Griffin Center board member, called it a privilege to serve such a worthy cause.
“Victims of violence are not statistics,” he said. “They have names. They have families. They have community leaders supporting them. This work cannot be done without our community leaders.”
Kelly Franklin, Betty Griffin Center CEO, described the delicate process of helping survivors, who often find it difficult to trust others.
“Survivors need physical activity, emotional safety and basic needs of food and clothing and shelter to find joy,” she said.
Last year, the center served more than 1,100 survivors, ages newborn to 79, through residential and outreach programs.
“This year, just two months into the year, we have served 368 survivors,” Franklin said.
The most powerful moment of the breakfast arrived when a courageous woman recounted her own personal experience with domestic violence and how the Betty Griffin Center helped her. Her story was both heartbreaking and inspiring, and her audience gave her a standing ovation to demonstrate their support.
There are different ways people can support the work of the Betty Griffin Center. Among them are direct donations and shopping at the nonprofit’s thrift shops. These can be found at:
To have furniture donations picked up, call 904-495-8216.
