Rihanna, Twitter CEO Donate $4.2M To Shelter Domestic Violence Victims Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- Rihanna and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey are teaming up to provide relief for victims of domestic violence during the coronavirus pandemic.
In his daily coronavirus update on Thursday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that Dorsey and Rihanna's Clara Lionel Foundation are co-funding a $4.2 million grant to provide 10 weeks of support for individuals and their children suffering from domestic violence.
The grant will cover shelter meals and counseling for 90 domestic violence victims per week, with an additional 90 victims every week for 10 weeks.
"You are truly angels, helping this City of Angels," Garcetti said, thanking the pair for their generosity. "You are helping save lives in more than one way, keeping people healthy and making sure that they are safe."
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The donation comes at a time when LAPD is experiencing an increase in domestic violence calls, and the L.A. Housing Authority has determined that about 90 people experiencing domestic violence have been turned away from shelters since the crisis began, Garcetti said.
"That's unacceptable for all of us," he continued.
The mayor said these individuals are being turned away because the shelter's are full — not because of an increase in demand but because the shelters, which are meant to be temporary, are currently housing people for an uncertain amount of time during the coronavirus pandemic.
"The unfortunate fact is that one in four American women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime," Garcetti said, "and make no mistake men are victims to0."
In March, the Mayor's Fund helped pay for hotel rooms and meal stipends for 80 families experiencing domestic violence for 15 days. Garcetti said Rihanna and Dorsey's donations will help continue to shelter 53 of those families.
"Crisis or not, that kind of generosity is part of who we are," he said. "People have gone above and beyond to lift up [other] people."
