Joan Prittie is the executive director of Project Safe, a nonprofit organization that offers services to domestic violence survivors, and the principal author and editor of the "Georgia Domestic Violence Benchbook."

Q: Can you explain what Project Safe is?

A: Project Safe is a domestic violence center based in Athens-Clarke County. There’s another program called Breaking Silence, a dating violence text line that serves all of Georgia. We believe everyone deserves to be safe in their homes and relationships. There are four ways we are trying to end domestic violence: crisis intervention, ongoing supportive services, systems change advocacy, and prevention and education.

Q: When did Project Safe, based in Athens, start?

A: We started as an all-volunteer network of safe homes. We don’t have great records, but we believe we began in the mid to late ’70s. They continued working voluntarily into the ’80s. Project Safe was incorporated in 1991, so technically that's our birthday.

Q: What makes you so passionate about Project Safe?

A: I started doing this work as a young attorney in the early ’90s. I don’t know if I’d call it accidental, serendipitous, or perhaps a God thing that I got involved in this work. What makes me passionate is that survivors of domestic violence are the strongest people I have ever encountered.

Q: Can you explain some of the programs you mentioned?

A: Our crisis intervention programs are really what we started with, our 24-hour hotline and our emergency shelter, which is for people of all genders, kids, and pets. We also provide legal advocacy, including temporary protective orders, dating violence orders, and stalking orders. We help people relocate and we offer support groups. Our prevention and education services start in elementary school, where we talk about healthy relationships. We also conduct social media outreach and host training on domestic violence. We also engage in legislative advocacy to ensure Georgia enacts laws that help people experiencing domestic violence.

Q: How does the Project Safe Thrift Store directly help victims of domestic violence?

A: We opened the thrift store in 2005. Our clients can shop for things at no charge. Hundreds of people working with us receive clothing, household items, and other necessities to help them start over. We also give vouchers to the Clarke County School District and other nonprofits, allowing them to send people to our store to get things for free. The store is the only place with a sign, so it’s the community face of our organization.

Q: Can you explain what the Groovy Nights event is?

A: This is the 21st iteration of the event, taking place at the VFW. It’s our retro lip sync battle and disco. We decorate with vintage items to celebrate the era of our formation and commitment to ending domestic violence.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: We have about 3,400 hotline calls, 300 text conversations, over 100 people in shelter, a dozen pets, 30 people in long-term housing, and over 700 people in our outreach office. Those are really large numbers of people we are working with.

(Comments trimmed for length and clarity.)