BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Several domestic violence organizations came together Monday evening to shine a light on Domestic Violence Awareness Month while raising awareness of the lack of funding.
The founder of Bury the Violence and Buffalo Against Domestic Violence Coalition tells 7 News reporter Yoselin Person she couldn’t see some of the signs of abuse until she sought help from “Haven House.”
“I was actually dating a guy who was very prominent and very well off and he had hit me in my face. I boxed in high school. No one has ever accomplished hitting in my face. I was traumatized,” Morris says. “It was the financial. Spiritual when they stop you from going to church. When they keep you up at night trying to make sure you won’t go to work it messes with your finances and then the mental. It’s just so many different layers and aspects that people don’t touch base on.”
The New York State Office of Victim Services is the primary funder for all domestic violence services across the state.
All of the groups were told in total they were going to be awarded 124 million dollars next year, but that may not happen.
And now the survivors of domestic violence may be left out in the cold.
“We lose staff constantly because we can’t pay them a living wage because we just don’t have it in our budget and so to now say we won’t be able to have enough to operate our programs at all is disheartening,” says Tiffany Pavone, director of Victim Services Child & Family Services. “How can we say we support survivors if we don’t have the funding to keep the services open.”
The potential loss of funding that Pavone says would take an especially heavy toll on organizations.
Especially those who serve refugees who may be coming from war trauma.
“Also accepting the culture and the culture has brought a lot of pressure on our clients to stay in the abusive relationship because they don’t want anything negative to the man who just arrived in the United States,” says Nancy Abdelhaq, executive director of RAHAMA(Resources And Help Against Marital Abuse)
The Latino community and others who work with survivors who have developmental disabilities may also be impacted.
If you ask me about Hispanic women going to shelters it’s not an option. They would rather stay where they’re at or go to a family member for a while,” says Judy Torress, director of Domestic Violence at Hispanic Violence in Buffalo. “We are taking that extra step to figure out what are the extra layers of support they might need. Whether it comes to understanding the information about their rights, accessing shelters and resources that meet their support needs,” says Stephanie Saunders, director of Domestic Violence Programs at Community Services.
Below is the list of hotlines and services:
Haven House: 716-884-6000
RAHAMA (Resources and Help Against Marital Abuse): 716-777-3468
Family Help Center: 716-892-2172
Erie Co. Sheriff’s Office: 716-858-7999
Crisis Services: 716-834-3131
