The You Deserve Love Scholarship is available for overcomers of domestic violence who have become advocates and change agents in the community. Annual scholarships of $500.00 each will be awarded to (2) active advocates of domestic violence.
Scholarship applications will be open February 1, 2023 – October 1, 2023.
Scholarship awards will be announced November 2023.
Starkville, MS is a small town located in Oktibbeha County. Starkville has a population of over 24,000 people with nearly 23,000 students enrolled at Mississippi State University. If we can increase awareness and education on trauma relating to domestic violence and empower individuals to recognize and choose love, we can help eradicate domestic violence. If we can instill this empowerment and duplicate the efforts with other individuals, we can help the initiative to spread globally in schools, churches, and communities.
39.7% of Mississippi women and 31.7% of Mississippi men experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes.
- Mississippi is 22nd in the number of females murdered by men.
- Mississippi does not release intimate partner homicide data to the public.
- 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the United States have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.
- Local domestic violence hotlines receive approximately 19,159 calls, approximately 13 calls every minute.
- There are request services going unmet due to lack of services.
These statistics may be found at https://ncadv.org/assets/2497/ncadv_mississippi_fact_sheet_2020.pdf.
As this initiative continues to evolve, this scholarship will help advocates with expenses relating to travel, speaking, publishing, etc. The advocacy is intended to provide education, empowerment and hope to a population of survivors who have been silent. The founder & executive director of You Deserve Love Inc., Dr. Veronica Outlaw, was raised in Starkville and is a survivor of domestic abuse and other trauma and is on a mission to help eradicate domestic violence.
Eligibility Criteria
- Proof of residency in Starkville, MS (39759)
- Completion and submission of scholarship application by deadline.
- For more information/questions: info@youdeserveloveinc.org
Applications submitted will be reviewed and you will be contacted if you have been selected.
