Asheville nonprofits say funding cuts could leave violence and abuse victims ‘unprotected’

By John Le

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    ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Mountain nonprofits raised a red flag after receiving word that they’re losing millions in state funding for at least the next two years. The organizations impacted said they’re deeply concerned about the impact of the funding cuts on a vulnerable population.

Pisgah Legal Services, Helpmate, The Mediation Center and Our VOICE learned that in September, the Governor’s Crime Commission will no longer allocate federal funding from the Victims of Crime Act.

“This is funding that we’ve all relied on significantly for a number of years,” said Julia Horrocks, managing attorney for Pisgah Legal. “Essential for our services for domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse prevention and trafficking programs. “

“Many of these programs have existed for years,” said Anjelica Wind, executive director of Our VOICE.

Pisgah Legal will lose $600,000 in funding over each of the next two years. The grant helps them serve 3,500 people annually.

Our VOICE is out $298,000 a year. Wind said that will lead to a 53 percent cut in counseling services.

The Mediation Center will take a yearly hit of $200,000 used to provide supervised visitation in domestic violence and child abuse cases.

Meanwhile, Helpmate loses $566,000 per year, money used for court advocacy and case management services.

“So often, people use the services from two or more of our organizations,” said Laura Jeffords, of The Mediation Center. “And even if one of those services is missing from the continuum, people can be left unprotected.”

“If there’s not some federal fix to this problem, then we’ll have even more drastic reductions to our service capacities,” Helpmate’s Maggie Slocumb said.

“It’s the external counties where those cuts are even more detrimental, to the point that some programs may actually close,” Wind explained.

A bipartisan VOCA bill is now in the hands of the Senate, but even if it were passed tomorrow, relief from that bill may be several years away.

In the meantime, the nonprofit leaders hope local governments can use American Rescue Plan Act funds to help make up the difference.

The timing of the funding crunch couldn’t be worse, they said, as more turn to these groups for help during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“And now as social conditions improve, we’re starting to see survivors seeing their opportunity to flee,” Slocumb said.

The nonprofits said they’ll continue to work together to help mitigate the effects of the cuts.

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