SC Attorney General announces $32 million in grants for victim support groups

FLORENCE, S.C. (WMBF) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced victim support groups from across the state are set to receive $32 million in grants at a news conference held at the Florence County Complex on Wednesday.

Wilson said Pee Dee and Grand Strand agencies will receive over $3 million of those grants:

• Florence County agencies will receive $2,898,360.
• Horry County agencies will receive $1,465,749.
• Georgetown County agencies will receive $354,899.

“These grants are going to go towards people who are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, human trafficking, as well as various other crimes,” Wilson said.

Wilson also said giving back to organizations that help survivors is one of his favorite things to do.

Nikeisha Martin is one of those survivors, having been involved in multiple abusive relationships.

The mother of eight struggled for almost a decade to get away from her abusers.

“Finally, I had to flee to a shelter by the hand of a good friend who found a shelter for me locally, from that point I transitioned to New Beginnings, I was one of the first residents at that shelter,” Martin said.

Multiple stays at the New Beginnings Transitional Shelter in Bennettsville helped Martin turn her life around. She now works there, using her own experience to help fellow survivors.

“You don’t see what may unfold afterwards, so trust in God, trust in God and let him open those doors. But he needs you to be willing to open those doors and then the sky is the limit,” she said.

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