Tamron Hall creates fund for domestic violence survivors in honor of murdered sister

In 2004, Today Show co-host Tamron Hall received some devastating news. Her sister Renate was found beaten and floating face down in a pool in Houston. Domestic violence claimed Renate’s life, leaving her two sons, Damion and Leroy, motherless.

In the aftermath of the devastation, Hall became an advocate for those in domestic violence situations and recently created The Tamron ♥ Renate Fund to support Safe Horizon in helping victims and their families.

“My sister’s death was ruled a homicide,” Hall said. “Blunt-force trauma to the back of the head. A few months prior to her death, I witnessed a violent confrontation where my sister was injured, but ultimately, no one was ever charged in her homicide or in her murder and no suspect was named. My sister’s case has led me to focus a lot of my attention on domestic violence. We don’t know what happened in her case, what I do know is that she was found in a swimming pool in the back of her home, face down, and it was ruled a homicide. My journey to speak out on domestic violence was based on conversations that I had with my sister.”

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Tamron Hall was personally devastated by domestic violence when her sister Renate was killed.⠀ ⠀ Today she's calling on all of us to take the #PutTheNailinIt vow to end the silence that allows domestic violence to thrive.⠀ ⠀ Have you taken the vow yet? www.PutTheNailinIt.org⠀ ⠀ Read more about the "Tamron ❤️ Renate Fund" honoring her sister's memory on our website.

A post shared by Safe Horizon (@safehorizon) on Oct 16, 2016 at 4:01pm PDT

According to Safe Horizon’s website, 80 percent of New York City domestic violence shelter residents are placed through the organization’s hotline, where many survivors of violence begin to find solace and a safe place. The advocates who operate the hotline offer personalized, nonjudgmental support, can provide information about resources in the community, and connect people to Safe Horizon programs and services.

The goal of the program is to help victims by educating them and their families on becoming a positive support system. The program includes educational courses, resources and shelter.

Hall said in a recent interview with HuffPost that she wanted her sister to be more than a Google search.

“I wanted to find a way specifically to help the next sister, mother, friend who does not know what to say but they know there’s a problem. They know there is abuse and they don’t know how to address it and we want to provide a support for them as a guiding light.”

Victims and families can call Safe Horizon’s 24-hour hotline (1-800-621-4673) for more information.