FEDERAL FUNDING FREEZE POSES IMMEDIATE EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO MAINE’S RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
FEDERAL FUNDING FREEZE POSES IMMEDIATE EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO MAINE’S RESPONSE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:
Maine’s movement to end domestic violence is facing an unprecedented crisis.
On Jan. 27, the federal Office of Budget and Management issued an executive order pausing the disbursement of federal grants and loans. This includes money already approved for ongoing grant-funded projects. This order will have an immediate and devastating impact on the lives of all Americans, as ALL of us depend on programs funded by the federal government. Maine’s response to domestic abuse and violence will be decimated by this order, should it be allowed to stand.
The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence (MCEDV) and our network of members together provide 24/7 access to support and safety for victims of domestic abuse and their children, serving approximately 15,000 Mainers each year. We rely upon federal funds for between 50%-85% of our day-to-day operations, most of which come through the Office on Violence Against Women, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the Office on Family Violence Prevention and Services. It is no exaggeration to say that, without the release of federal grant dollars already promised to us, we are unable to keep operating. And while the order has been temporarily halted by a judge as of Jan. 28, the uncertainty and chaos it has caused are already impacting our network’s ability to do our work with and for survivors.
If this order is allowed to stand, MCEDV and our network face program closures and staff furloughs in the immediate future. While individual organizations will each use whatever alternative resources they have available to sustain services, the reality is that none of our member organizations can last more than 4-6 weeks without a fix to this issue. And the implications for survivors and our communities are huge. Closures and furloughs would mean:
That domestic violence victims will navigate court proceedings, like protection from abuse cases, alone.
That those in crisis will not have a helpline available to them 24/7, nor will there be someone to call them to follow up and help a victim safety plan after they are assaulted and the police respond.
Our shelters – already overwhelmed with demand — would close, leaving parents and their children without a place to go in an emergency.
This order rolls back the clock to the 1970s, before we had a strong network of advocacy services in place to support survivors. And it is survivors, more than anyone, who will pay the price. In just one concrete example, MCEDV currently pays rent for 42 survivor households across Maine – many with children – who will face eviction in the middle of a Maine winter, if we lack the ability to pay their rent with the federal funding promised for them.
In recent years, Mainers have heard us advocate vocally for funding to sustain and expand domestic violence services in Maine. It is important for Maine people to understand that this crisis is not like the looming funding cuts we’ve recently faced. Freezing federal funding means the closure not just of programs, but of entire organizations, potentially for good. It is far worse than anything we’ve anticipated.
MCEDV is committed to working so that services and support for victims and their children in Maine remain available, and that advocates – many of whom are survivors – remain employed. However, we are realistic. The crisis is no longer looming. It is here.
There is no substitute for the federal government doing its job. They must immediately reverse this freeze on funding and allow our communities the critical infrastructure support that has been allocated to us by congress. We ask that Mainers contact their congressional representatives immediately and urge them to reject this freeze on the essential family violence response spending that they have approved and contracted with us to provide. Survivors – and all Americans – are counting on it.