More shutdown news:
Center for sexual assault survisors is forced to cut hours; federal shutdown could ding state budget
Nonprofit that relies on federal grants hit by shutdown
NEWPORT NEWS — The Center for Sexual Assault Survivors in Newport News closed earlier than normal Wednesday.
Most of the staff left at 4 p.m., but director Maricella Montoya Carter stayed behind a bit longer — she already worked that day without pay, her first day of being furloughed in the partial government shutdown.
“Sexual assault isn’t going to end” in the shutdown, she said.
Wednesday marked the first day of reduced hours for the center, which gets 80 percent of its funding from federal grants. The center’s total budget from federal grants and support from the city of Newport News totals $387,215.
The center offers free support and assistance to victims of sexual abuse and violence. People come to the center for help, and the center’s staff does outreach.
Office hours have been shortened by an hour two days a week, and some early and late hours to accommodate kids in school or people scheduling around work have been eliminated. The center will not be open Fridays until funding unfreezes.
Despite those cutbacks, the staff strives to keep its other services up to the same level.
On the shortened schedule, Carter said the center saw about the same number of people this week it usually would. Up to 27 people come to a support group, 22 are getting counseling, 20 people disclosed they were assault survivors and 25 people submitted questions online and on social media. About 150 people attended events the center organized this week.
Teri Duesbery, the victim services program manager at the center, said staff members are on call around the clock, responding alongside law enforcement when someone has been raped, helping someone who’s gone to the hospital and manning a 24-hour hotline. They’ll counsel someone in a crisis situation, accompany someone through the legal process, or refer them to shelters and other resources should they want that assistance.
Carter said shortening hours helped ensure the staff could perform the services that occur after work hours. The center also has asked volunteers to take extra shifts on the crisis hotline as the center’s funding dwindles. Volunteer advocate training and some after-hours community outreach that focus on prevention have been halted.
The center’s five staff members besides Carter are still getting paid. But right now, their mileage isn’t being reimbursed. They’ve tried to cut back on purchasing office supplies and have asked for donations of printer paper and ink.
As a small nonprofit offering free services, money is already tight, and creative spending and budgeting in the shutdown are an extension of the creativity they exercise every day — much of the decor comes from the homes of staff members. They managed to maintain through the first 25 days of the shutdown, but had to adjust.
“We’re not thinking outside the box now. There’s no box anymore,” Carter said.
Things that may not seem essential like having coffee, tea and snacks for people visiting the center are still being purchased. Duesbery said those comfort items are for the victims.
“Those things can make a big difference,” she said.
Along with the shutdown, staff at the center has its eyes on the Violence Against Women Act, which expired Dec. 21. The act passed in 1994 and sought to improve responses by communities and law enforcement to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
The act has been reauthorized in 2000, 2005 and 2013. It was set to expire in September and twice was extended before running out during the shutdown, according to NPR. Carter expressed frustration that reauthorization of the act has been set aside because of the federal budget dispute.
“It’s a travesty this is impacting agencies like ours,” Carter said. For many people, free resources like the center are the only place they can go for help, she said. If the center weren’t there, many would never talk about the violence or abuse they’ve ex p e r i e n c e d and keep that trauma to themselves.
She said the center sees an array of people — children as young as 5 and people in their 90s, people of any gender or sexuality. It sees a lot of military members and veterans, homeless people and immigrants.
Along with funding for sexual assault crisis centers like the one in Newport News, the Violence Against Women Act supports endeavors such as domestic violence shelters, resources for law enforcement, educational tools and LGBTQ centers.
“It’s a travesty this is impacting agencies like ours.” — Maricella Montoya Carter, Director, director of the Center for Sexual Assault Survivors
Other nonprofits
The impact of the shutdown has varied for nonprofits, depend- ing on their missions and use of federal funds.
Local nonprofits such as the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank and United Way of the Virginia Peninsula don’t have as much funding tied to federal sources, but they serve people who may be going without pay, according to staff from each organization.
The NATASHA House in York County, which takes in and assists homeless women and their children, does not receive federal funding because the program is not an emergency shelter, said executive director Karen Brown. But some of the people the NATASHA House assists have been going without pay. The organization relies heavily on donations as well, so in the longterm, some regular donors may not be able to give.
The Avalon Center in Williamsburg said the shutdown has not impacted services yet, but it may if the shutdown drags out or if the Violence Against Women Act were suspended.
The Avalon Center provides support and shelter to people who have experienced domestic or sexual violence. The shelter can house up to 50 people and Avalon also provides meals, transportation and other services.
Priscilla Caldwell, the Avalon Center’s development and communications director, said about 60 percent of the center’s funding is from federal sources, but a contingency plan is in place for the shutdown.
If the shutdown goes past the contingency plan, local groups like the United Way and churches and civic groups are resources that can help the center, Caldwell said.
The Violence Against Women Act funds services such as hospital accompaniment, legal advocacy, case management and some children’s programs, Caldwell said. The bulk of the center’s funding comes from a different federal source, the Victims of Crime Act Fund.
Caldwell said the center expects to feel direct impacts of the shutdown if it continues past February.