Forty-two years ago, Partnership for Families, Children and Adults opened what is now the Domestic Violence Shelter to care for individuals and their children who have

  • An active abuser, and
  • A high lethality assessment.

The latter is an assessment tool in which Partnership trains law enforcement and first responders to assess what level of support individuals need. The seriousness of these cases is in keeping with our trauma-informed care.

Twelve years later, a valiant group of individuals led by June McEwen raised over $700,000 to open the Sexual Assault Crisis and Resource Center, known today as Partnership’s Rape Crisis Center.

Each of these essential programs serves victims and, as such, receives federal grant funding from:

  • Victims of Crimes Act program (VOCA). The funds for these grants come from fines and penalties resulting from federal convictions. These are not taxpayer dollars but are specifically collected from offenders convicted of federal crimes.
  • Office on Violence Against Women(OVW), under the U.S. Department of Justice, and
  • Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services(OFVPS), also a federal agency under the Administration for Children and Families,
  • HUD Emergency Housing Vouchers.


THE PROBLEM
It is right for our community to apply for and receive federal funds from these federal grantors for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence – but they are not sufficient to effectively run these programs, especially with the increased volume and complexity of cases in our community. The shortfall is roughly $250,000 each year.

One reason for the shortfall is an increased workload from higher volumes of these crimes in our community and the complexity of our victims

  • Sexual assault exams by our Nurse Examiners are up 27% over a three-year period.
  • Shelter bed nights are up 72% over a five-year period, and 22% over two years.
  • Rape Crisis Center victims are increasing coming with complexities, including homelessness, mental illness and addiction.
  • With a shortage of section 8 and low-income housing, victims are staying in the shelter longer while they wait for stable housing.

In addition, higher costs due to inflation and a $720,000 decrease in federal funding over the past three years contribute to the funding gap.

The costs to run these programs and meet the needs of our community are sustained costs and the support must also be sustained. This means single gifts from local foundations are not a fit. These “funders” (trustees and board members who fund grant requests) look for opportunities to make measurable impact through a single gift.


THE ANSWER
The answer is sustained community support from individuals who have a heart for victims of the most heinous crimes.  We believe if 250 individuals would commit to annual gifts of $1,000 or more for Victim Services each year (as little as $83.34 per month) we could meet the needs of this community.

If you are currently supporting Partnership:
Thank you! Your support is very important to the fiscal wellbeing of this organization that serves over 8000 of our community’s most vulnerable neighbors. If you have the capacity to increase your support for these critical services, we will be very grateful.

If you are not yet giving and wish to see these services sustained:
We invite you to commit to this initiative today. Your multi-year commitment allows us to plan our resources.

STAND WITH US as we serve victims by clicking this link: Sustaining Victim Support Services