As shelter-at-home orders put more at risk for domestic abuse, NFL set to help grass-roots groups

Home isn’t the safest place for some people to be.

With shelter-at-home orders raising the risk for domestic violence, the NFL is awarding grants to grass-roots organizations in areas most affected by COVID-19. The recipients have not been announced yet.

“For this round, we (decided we) would focus really on these grass-roots organizations that are literally serving people every day, through direct service,” said Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s senior vice president of social responsibility.

The NFL has worked with the National Domestic Violence Hotline, as well as other groups that advocate for physical and sexual abuse survivors, since the fall of 2014, when the league and commissioner Roger Goodell were widely criticized for turning a blind eye to intimate partner violence. When states and cities began issuing shelter-at-home orders to halt the spread of the coronavirus, Isaacson said the league reached out to that group of advisers to see how it could best help.

The uncertainty and economic insecurity created by the pandemic, coupled with family members being in close proximity for extended periods of time, can trigger episodes of domestic and sexual violence.

“We had a brainstorm with (our advisers) about what can the league do? How do we help? What’s the most appropriate way to help at this time?” Isaacson said.

Rather than a large infusion of cash to a national organization, Isaacson said the NFL was told that smaller grants to groups working directly in a community would be more effective right now. The league then asked for recommendations, focusing on cities that are coronavirus hot spots.

The grants will be around $10,000, and they will likely go to a dozen recipients.

“(These) are grass-roots organizations that wouldn’t necessarily be recipients of huge grants. But they can use an infusion of cash that can help with emergency needs now,” Isaacson said.

This won’t be the end of the NFL’s contributions, Isaacson said. In talking with the NDVH, there is a fear there will be a real spike in need when shelter-at-home orders are lifted and those who have been abused or are in danger can leave.