Survivor advocates ask for action amid shelter crisis

As families snuggle by the fire this holiday season, 48% of domestic violence survivors will be turned away from emergency shelters because of lack of capacity and funding issues. That percentage has been on the rise for the last five years.

In Hays County, every room at the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center’s shelter is currently full, although they are still taking calls from people needing help.

“We want to be sure people know that we will find safe options if they’re from our service area and in need,” HCWC Director of Community Partnerships Melissa Rodriguez said. “We had seen a bit of a decline in our shelter numbers when the pandemic first began but we have seen a steady increase as time went on. The holidays always bring additional stressors to families so being full is not unusual for this time of year.”

HCWC served 2,023 victims of abuse between October 2019 to September 2020.

This year, the pandemic shed a harsh light on domestic violence as the economic pressures, increased time at home during lockdowns, and reduced shelter capacities because of physical distancing compounded the risk and severity of abuse for survivors.

At HCWC, services have seen a drop in usage over the pandemic but have been steadily increasing in some service areas, particularly with their child abuse program, Rodriguez said. Nonresidential services have also started seeing some slight increases for both counseling and advocacy services.

The Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV) has launched a campaign supporting funding of domestic violence services ahead of the 87th Texas Legislative Session. Texans are asked to electronically sign a purple postcard destined for delivery to legislators at the Texas Capitol, asking that they ensure funding for life-saving services like shelter beds, food and life counseling take a front seat at the Texas Legislative Session, where the budget is determined.

TCFV is aiming to collect 71,000 cards by February — one card for every domestic violence survivor who sought services last year.

That staggering number is accompanied by others: last year alone, 185 people were killed in Texas by domestic violence; every day, about 196 survivors of violence seek shelter and support from domestic violence programs in Texas.

“The current funding allotted for family violence centers does not fully address the dangerously growing capacity crisis. How do we know that? Because centers had to turn away nearly 50% of requests for shelter last year solely due to lack of space,” said Molly Voyles, public policy manager at TCFV.

Rodriguez said HCWC is working with various partners including TCFV to secure more funding for supportive service organizations. They are also asking supporters to call or email representatives asking to fully fund the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and support the VOCA fix.

“We want to make sure we keep funding levels where they are and if we’re fortunate, an increase due to the fact that we anticipate increased demand once things continue to settle post pandemic,” Rodriguez said. “This (VOCA) funding source is really important to us and accounts for a significant amount of our total budget.”

VOCA funding comes from fines on federal crimes and forfeitures and not from tax dollars, Rodriguez said. There are two acts before Congress that need to be addressed: a proposed significant cut to VOCA of more than a billion dollars and a “VOCA fix” which will allow monetary penalties even in cases that don’t end in prosecution to funnel towards VOCA funds.

“This fix will have a very stabilizing effect on the VOCA fund and will work to ensure that we continue to serve victims that need us,” Rodriguez said. “This week, I hope that you will ask your member of the House and two Senators to fully fund VOCA and to support a permanent solution by supporting the 'VOCA fix.'”

During the 87th Texas Legislative Session in 2021, TCFV plans to ask for $65,300,000 in core baseline funding, as well as $13,000,000 over the biennium as an exceptional item request. These funds will assist with housing and economic advocacy, legal services, children’s services, health support, technology infrastructure and support for overextended essential workers.

According to TCFV’s 2019 Honoring Texas Victims report and its 2021 appropriations request: every day in Texas, 196 victims of family violence seek safety and support from trained advocates at a domestic violence program, one-third of these are children; last year, 150 women and 31 men were killed in domestic violence homicides; each year, nearly 50% of all survivors who call seeking shelter are denied service solely due to lack of capacity; in a state that is rapidly growing in population, only 63% of Texas’ counties have family violence programs that offer comprehensive services; and one in three Texans are projected to experience family violence in their lifetime.

“This is a public health crisis our state cannot afford to put on the backburner, and it’s one that will only be overcome when the number of Texans who raise their voice against it outnumber those who are silent on the matter,” said TCFV CEO Gloria Aguilera Terry. “TCFV understands 2021 will be an extremely challenging budget year with lots of topics on the funding table at the upcoming Texas Legislative Session. But this year, more than any other, it’s imperative our representatives know funding for domestic violence services isn’t just necessary – it is critical.”

Though TCFV launches a campaign for purple postcards biennially, this year’s campaign is strictly digital and requires no postage due to health concerns from the pandemic. It is also the largest campaign goal ever set at 71,000 postcards. The public can fill out a purple postcard in English or Spanish at tcfv.org/postcard.