SWAN Joins Local Officials in Battle Against Domestic Violence

By Travis Volz

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Donna Markotay wants to spread the word about services her organization provides.

Stop Women’s Abuse Now (SWAN) was in Nashville last week meeting with court and law enforcement as part of an awareness campaign against domestic violence.

“SWAN provides support, information and counseling for anyone in a domestic violence situation,” Markotay said. “A lot of what we do involves helping poor people in civil court and with orders of protection.”

Most of the clients for the group come as a result of referrals from police and the courts, particularly the circuit clerk.

“There’s definitely a need, but we are not a state agency,” Markotay said. “Most of our resources are from grants, and the funding is not what it was.”

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