If the person was assigned rather than chosen, then yes, she's being represented by the public defender.

Also, "Upstate New York" is an EXTREMELY broad term which can encompass anything from Westchester (near New York City) to tiny towns practically in Ohio and/or Canada.

That said, this organization (http://www.equinoxinc.org/) is located in Albany and their focus is helping DV victims. They may know people who can help / have new ideas.

ETA: Okay I see people with more useful information than me have chimed in to answer the OP. In any case, I hope it all works out for her.