Monthly fundraiser to benefit new domestic violence shelter in Sarasota

SARASOTA, Fla. - The non-profit organization Queens of Domestic Violence Awareness hosted its first-ever First Friday fundraiser at the newly-named Queens Field on Orange Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in Sarasota.

The event will happen every first Friday of the month for a year and proceeds will go toward opening a new domestic violence shelter in Sarasota County.

"Right now domestic violence is on the rise, we have a shelter here in Sarasota but it's pretty full, so I feel that if we have another shelter, no woman would have to stay in a domestic violence situation, they will always have a place to go," said Rhonda Calahan, the founder of the organization.

Calahan, a domestic violence survivor herself, says she is determined to help other women get out of a bad situation.

"When a woman is going through domestic violence she doesn't have any place to go, so she ends up staying in the house with that victim continuing to be abused," Calahan said.

If you want to get involved or donate, visit the Queens Domestic Violence Awareness Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/QueensofDVA.