Santa Cruz will be seeing some major budget cuts to their programs that aid battered and homeless women. One organization that is being greatly affected is Women's Crisis Support-Defensa de Mujeres(meaning Defending the Women) has already seen employees let go, work days/hours being, pay cuts at 20% and they even won't be able to hire defense attorneys that represents women in court for various offenses or restraining orders, all due to the budget cuts. The remaining employees can be found outside their building during lunch, openly protesting the states budget cuts. There are still cars who honk in support, but the number of protesters is getting smaller and smaller everyday. Also making matters worse is that most citizens of Santa Cruz aren't even aware of the effect the cuts are having. The problems don't stop there, they no longer are able to keep their prevention programs, counselling, therapists, also their youth and children programs. Of those programs, 5 positions were terminated, which includes two open positions and an administrator. The finger of blame is being pointed towards Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for cutting out the funding to the Domestic Violence Program,which was being ran by the state Department of Public Health, that was bringing in $16.3 million in funding to 93 of California's Domestic Violence Centers/Shelters. An estimated $477,000 was being given to Women's Crisis Support-Defensa de Mujeres which in turn was being used to help around 1,500 women, and children if they have any, who now won't have somewhere to turn when times get too ruff. The Women's Crisis Support-Defensa de Mujeres will continue to provide their remaining services, but with funding being cut for the whole state makes their future outlook very bleak.

 Mary Kay is know among women as a provider og great make-up and beauty products, but now she will be know as providing another service to women, grants. The Mary Kay Foundation’s annual shelter grant giving program has just recently granted 150 domestic violence shelters in each state with $20,000, coming out to a totaled $3 million. The grant will greatly help those women who at risk/in a violent relationship, homeless or in need of aid, but the best part is the Mary Kay evenly distributed the grants to all of our 50 states making a greater sense of equality among these foundations. During the future months of October, the Mary Kay organization will observe our National Domestic Violence Awareness Month by contenuing their efforts, even though funding isn't seeing the numbers it had before. One way Mary Kay is trying to combat this is by using part of the proceeds of her products to go towards the fund, which Mary Kay contributes to by buying and using her own products.