This grant funded an additional domestic violence attorney for one year. Last year, Legal Aid Foundation's sole domestic violence attorney successfully represented 123 abused women (and their 166 children) but was forced to turn away an additional 117 victimized women. Domestic violence has become an epidemic in our community. Seeking help from the courts without professional help is intimidating and confusing for most women. Without Legal Aid, hundreds of low-income, abused women would either have to leave their homes to escape their abusers or attempt to obtain orders of protection on their own. In south Santa Barbara County, Legal Aid Foundation is the only free provider of civil legal assistance to victims of domestic violence.