Federal money is on the way for the Greenwich agency dedicated to protecting vulnerable families throughout Fairfield County.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal stopped by the YWCA to announce a $75,000 award for its domestic violence program from the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Organizers say the YWCA the is the only accredited domestic violence agency in the town.

They say domestic violence the number one violent crime in Greenwich, and is on the rise.

"During COVID, calls to our hotline spiked - over 7,000 calls in a year whereas pre-COVID, our average was about 3,800 calls per year, so our clients were in crisis and needed our support. They needed more services than they ever had before,” said Mary Lee Kiernan, president and CEO of Greenwich YWCA.

She says they will use the funds to hire more staff and improve their office space.