Domestic Violence Counts - 2007 Report Released

The report on the national one day count from September 25th, 2007 is on-line now. PWCL participated in this count and, not to our surprise, it shows an overwhelming need for services and an underwhelming amount of funding for such services.

I found a press release through the newsfeed in our side bar with some sad information about the state of federal funding for domestic violence services.

From the NCDVS release:
"Approximately 61% of unmet requests were for emergency shelter and transitional housing. With recent cuts to critical programs funded by theViolence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), domestic violence advocates worry about their ability to respond to all requests for help."

That sounds familiar, doesn't it? And then there is this:

The Fiscal Year 2008 federal budget:

  -- slashes $35 million from the VOCA Fund, a key funding
source which serves over 3 million crime victims each year;

  -- cuts $2.1 million from the Legal Assistance to
Victims program; and

  -- applies a 1.74% rescission to Labor Health and
Human Services funding, creating a devastating $2.2 million
cut to the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act.

Not great. Not great at all. If you ever doubted our need for grassroots community financial support, I hope you are convinced of it now. That, and someone in the White House who understands the intersection of poverty and violence against women.

More on the election

Mitt Romney actually admits he is "not familiar" with the Federal Violence Against Women Act

That's VAWA to those of us who are funded or work with people funded by it.

Well...in the very least I am not undecided on not voting for him.

Wouldn't it be a shocker if interpersonal violence was actually discussed intelligently by the candidates? Maybe we should keep an eye out for it.