Part of VINE Program Could Shut Down by July

by Stephanie CrosbyA program that alerts victims of domestic violence when their accused attacker has been served with a protective order could be shut down on July first. The original VINE program – or Victim Information and Notification Everyday – delivered over 600-thousand notifications over the phone and 53-thousand via email last year to victims who wanted to know when their abusers were released from jail.Marcia Roth is the director of the Mary Byron Project, which seeks funding for VINE. She says federal funding for the protective order portion of the program has not been renewed, and they want lawmakers to know the consequences.“This is not just a luxury for people that are living under the fear of domestic violence, crime," says Roth. "You only have to open the paper or listen to the radio and you know that every single day a victim is killed by her abuser. This is not just a feel-good program, this is a program that saves lives.”The VINE program was started after Mary Byron, a Louisville woman, was killed by a former boyfriend after he, unbeknownst to her, had been released from jail.Roth says the protective order program needs 240-thousand dollars to continue.