Mississippi nonprofit centers that serve survivors of domestic violence, dating violence and sexual assault have been unable to apply for crucial federal grants, creating uncertainty and potentially jeopardizing services and staffing.
The U.S. Department of Justice awards tens of millions of dollars yearly through the Violence Against Women Act, but in February, grant information was taken down from the Office on Violence Against Women’s website right before the usual application deadline.
As of the end of April, the information hasn’t returned, and the office’s website announcing funding opportunities was last updated Feb. 6, telling applicants not to finalize any applications.
“So many times when you’re utilizing federal funds to pretty much run your organization, when those federal funds are cut, you have to start looking at cutting staff and services,” said Joy Jones, executive director of the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which receives VAWA funding.
“That is detrimental to victims of crime,” she added.
Since 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice has awarded nearly $50 million to Mississippi nonprofit centers, the State Department of Health and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. That’s money that has supported the operation of shelters, transitional housing, victim advocacy, education and more.
Other funding through VAWA includes training for law enforcement officers and prosecutors as well as support for rural communities and college campuses.
Meridian’s Care Lodge serves nine counties in the east central part of the state. Its executive director, Kim Neal, said federal grants support the organization’s emergency shelter, where over 200 women, men and children turned to last year.
She said a lot of the funding is to ensure people have basic needs like clothing, food and a safe environment, in addition to advocacy, like when survivors want to file charges or to seek a protective order.
Tupelo-based S.A.F.E., Inc. serves nine counties in northeast Mississippi. A rural grant has allowed the organization to do work at its domestic violence shelter and in the community, including throughout April – Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Through federal and state grants, S.A.F.E, housed 55 people last year, including those who are homeless as a result of domestic violence and sexual assault, said Zowee Shanks, S.A.F.E’s executive director.
“When people are making these decisions to pull the grants out, they are not understanding these shelters do more work than at our 19-bed facility,” she said.
Another federal funding source for domestic violence and rape crisis centers is through the Victims of Crime Act. That act created the Crime Victims Fund, which collects fines and penalties from people convicted of federal crimes and distributes the money to states.
In October, the start of the federal government’s fiscal year, the crime fund is expected to be cut by $700 million, meaning less funding for states and victim service programs.
The Mississippi Department of Health uses VAWA and VOCA grants along with $12 million from the State Legislature to support victim services that many shelters provide, said Gregory Flynn, a spokesperson for the department.
Currently, the Health Department funds support ten of the 11 domestic violence shelters across the state, including Care Lodge and S.A.F.E, Inc.
At the same time as VAWA grants were frozen, the Justice Department cancelled funding for 365 grant programs for nonprofit organizations across the country working with crime victims. Some of the grant recipients were notified that their projects no longer “effectuate” the DOJ’s agencies, CBS News reported.
“It certainly concerns us,” Neal said about the wait for answers about the federal grants.
“Domestic violence doesn’t stop even though they may freeze the funding.”
