UPDATE ON STATE FUNDING

We learned late last week that STATE FUNDING FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICES HAS BEEN RESTORED. $2.375 MILLION HAS BEEN PUT BACK IN THE BUDGET.

State domestic violence funding was restored on Thursday, March 4, by the House Budget Chairman Alan Icet (R-Wildwood) in his Department of Social Services appropriations bill HB 2011. A House appropriations committee had earlier recommended cutting state domestic violence funding by 50% ($2.375 million), but the Chairman’s new budget bill will restore DV funding to current levels ($4.75 million).

Chairman Icet’s bill will be the basis of House Budget Committee deliberations for each state department. Those hearings will begin March 15 after this week’s legislative spring break.

How wonderful it was to learn that the funding cuts that would have been absolutely devastating to our budgets had been restored in the House Budget! The work that Hope House does is critical to helping victims of domestic violence reclaim their lives and focus on starting new lives free of abuse.

Thank you to all of you who called or wrote to your representatives to encourage them to reinstate this funding. It does make a difference and your voice was heard.

Thank you to all of our representatives who not only heard that message but advocated on our behalf. It is clear they understood the devastating impact these cuts would have on victims and how lives would be lost.

We are not through the budget process and I know that the state is facing critical shortfalls in revenue. Very difficult decisions are ahead for our representatives. I am extremely grateful for their commitment to the residents of Missouri during this very difficult time.

Funding For Hope House

With the news of potential 50% funding cuts from the state of Missouri, many questions have been asked about our funding so I thought I would take this opportunity to address that in this blog.

We receive revenues from public and private sources. Our public funding consists of grant funding from city, county, state and federal government sources and accounts for 42% of our overall funding. We are very proud to be United Way partner agency, with 5% of our budget coming from United Way. Our private funding comes from individuals, businesses, service organizations, churches and special events, and is the remaining 53% of our budget.

INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS

We have worked hard to diversify our funding so that a downturn in one area won’t significantly impact or cripple our budget. This has not been easy; however, we recognize its importance and will continue to strive toward this goal. In the past two years, cuts in funding from public sources have forced us to add to our private fundraising expectations. We have worked to create funding sources that are sustainable and “economy proof”. One way we are accomplishing this is through innovative partnerships. I am happy to share two examples.

BEST VALUE THRIFT STORES

The first partnership is with Best Value Thrift Stores. Best Value collects donated items on behalf of Hope House to sell in their thrift stores. In exchange, Hope House receives a monthly remittance resulting from the sale of donated items. This partnership creates a guaranteed annual compensation of nearly $100,000 in support of Hope House programs and operations! If you are interested in having items picked up from your home, please call 816.554.0870.

GLOBAL RE-SOURCE FUNDING

Another partnership is with Global Re-source Funding. For every inkjet, toner/laser cartridge, digital camera, GPS device, iPod, laptop and cell phone that is collected and donated to Hope House, Global Re-Source Funding will send a donation to Hope House for the full buyback value of the product as it is recycled for re-sale. Global Re-Source Funding will supply collection bins plus pick-up services and marketing materials for your program – all at no cost.

The best part of this program is that you can raise money to support Hope House simply by asking for a donation of items that most people discard anyway. To learn more or to enroll in this partnership please visit http://www.globalre-sourcefunding.com/.

CONTINUING TO STRIVE

We will continue to strive to meet the challenge of serving over 10,000 victims of domestic violence every year by exploring new and lasting ways to bring in sustainable revenue. Please let us know if you have partnership ideas or if you would like to make a donation that will support our services. You can visit http://www.hopehouse.net/ for more information.

State House Committee Cuts Domestic Violence Funding by 50%

We learned this week that the House Appropriations Committee for Social Services cut state Domestic Violence Services funding by 50 percent—$2,375,000! Current funding is $4.75 million. Domestic Violence Services funding was one of the only Department of Social Services programs cut by 50 percent. For Hope House this translates to a $57,585 reduction for shelter services.

This decision will have a devastating impact on the victims of domestic violence that we serve everyday. This money is for core services, it pays for the life saving services we offer in shelter. We will turn away even more women and children then ever before. Last year we turned away 1,331 women and children because we were full. That number is more than the 1,228 women and children we were able serve in shelter last year. With more cuts to funding the number turned away will only grow.

The headline for the Examiner on Friday, February 12th read “Harbour guilty in beating death. Lynn Kelly was strangled and bludgeoned with baseball bat”. Demetrius Harbour was Lynn Kelly’s boyfriend. With this dramatic and deep of a cut we know the impact will be more lives like Lynn’s lost due to domestic violence.

This extraordinary cut to the Governor’s budget—where no cuts were proposed—came as a surprise in an amendment by Committee Chairman Rep. David Sater (R-Cassville). The Chairman’s amendment included nearly $32 million in reductions to Department of Social Services programs and services for Fiscal Year 2011. Committee Chairman Rep. David Sater said the budget had to be cut by reductions in services that are “not essential” and “not critical.” Statements like this are unacceptable, women and children’s lives are essential and are critical and we need your help in stopping this drastic action from going forward.

All members of the Missouri House of Representatives need to hear from those who work in domestic violence programs, who support those programs, and who are committed to ending violence against women. Our Representatives need to hear the impact these cuts will have on programs and that the proposed cuts will mean more women and children will die because they could not access life saving services.

If you know members of the House Budget Committee it is very important to contact them as the issue is now in front of them for consideration and vote. Follow this link to learn who is on the committee: http://www.house.mo.gov/content.aspx?info=/bills101/commit/com011.htm

HOW TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS:

• Go to http://www.moga.mo.gov/ and click on “Legislator Look-up”. Enter your zip code to find your legislator.

• For an alphabetical listing of Representatives, go to http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx

Please help us in reaching out to our Representatives so they can hear from everyone across the state the devastating impact these drastic cuts will have. Ask them to take a stand for abused women and children—cast the votes to restore these essential services for women and children who are victims of violence in their own homes. We must restore the funding!