A $2.4 million state grant that funds legal services for domestic violence victims can mean the difference between life and death for some legal aid clients.

“One of the most effective things we can do to get victims away from their abuser is to get them a lawyer. We get them a TPO, get them out of the house and get them a new life,” said Vicky Kimbrell, the director of the Georgia Legal Services Program's domestic violence project.

Georgia Legal Services received the lion's share, $1.6 million, of the $2,425,000 that the state Legislature allocated this fiscal year. The Judicial Council of Georgia, which disburses the annual grant, allocated $700,974 to the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and the remaining $116,674 to five domestic violence shelters to pay private lawyers to represent their residents.