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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Domestic violence victims are becoming empowered to be entrepreneurs through a program called Project Phoenix. The program will provide domestic abuse survivors with the skills needed to develop and run their own businesses.

Vera House Director, Randi Bregman, said often times the most challenging step in becoming free from an abusive relationship is becoming financially independent. She believes Project Phoenix will give these women the power to control their futures.

"Many of the women who come through domestic violence situations have a passion. They've thought about how entrepreneurship about how owning their own business might open their lives and a life that may never have been at that opportunity. So what they're able to do is put together a program, a real plan for action," said Joanne Lenweaver, WISE Women's Business Center Director.

The program is a collaborative effort among Vera House, the WISE Women's Business Center, and the South Side Innovation Center and is funded by a $100,000 grant from Verizon.