BATON ROUGE - The Governor's Office of Women's Policy launched a new program on Monday that it said will provide safe and reliable transportation for domestic violence survivors. 

In the Safe Wheels Alliance program, Baton Rouge Community College students and instructors are enlisted to fix and maintain survivors' vehicles, ensuring them a safe and dependable way to get to the IRIS Domestic Violence Shelter. 

Dependable transportation is one of the biggest challenges survivors have when leaving abusive situations, according to Director of the Governor's Office of Women's Policy, Laurie Marien.

“Safe Wheels Alliance not only helps survivors gain the freedom they need to rebuild their lives but also gives our students the chance to learn and make a real difference,” Gov. Jeff Landry said. 

The governor's office hopes to spread the program to every shelter across the state by partnering with other local colleges. 

"These services will help provide reliable transportation to survivors, enabling them to bring their children to school, maintain employment, and attend medical and counseling appointments on time," Marien said. 

The Safe Wheels Alliance's goal is for every survivor in the state to have safe and reliable transportation.