Shutdown panics domestic violence shelters despite temporary, eleventh-hour reprieve

Domestic violence shelters got an eleventh-hour reprieve Thursday as the Department of Justice announced its offices that distribute essential funding for victims' advocates would remain funded through March 1 despite the partial government shutdown.

Unease had given way to panic and exasperation at many shelters as the clock ticked down to when DOJ's Office of Justice Programs and Office on Violence Against Women were set to close Friday, and pre-approved funds that nonprofits count on would no longer be processed.

"People are freaked. They are so panicked," said Cindy Southworth, executive vice president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV). "The emotional rollercoaster is inhumane."

Though grants for 2019 have already been awarded to nonprofits that work with victims of domestic and sexual violence, recipients spend against those awards then submit reimbursement requests to the government on a monthly basis. If those funds are not processed on time, organizations can be left scrambling to finance payrolls, rent and utilities with private donations or local funding.

More: Security, immigration controls fray as impasse over Trump's wall stretches into its fourth week

More: White House tries to bypass Pelosi on shutdown talks, but moderate Democrats rebuff offer

"It's great to get a six-week reprieve. But that's not a budget," Southworth said. "Let’s get spending bills passed, and victim advocates back to survivor safety and not worrying about having to stay afloat."

For many in the field, the shutdown has kept directors up at night wondering how they will manage operations if federal funding falls through.

Donna Kelly, director of CEASE Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Shelter in eastern Tennessee, said in an emergency meeting Monday, she and the nonprofit's board decided to cut half the program's staff in order to prioritize keeping clients currently in the 26-bed shelter safe.

"Staff were alerted on Tuesday, with four days notice, that we'd be laying 17 people off," Kelly said. On Friday morning, Kelly received word that they'd continue to receive funds through February. "Layoffs will not happen on Monday, but the uncertainty is still there. Feels like we received a reprieve, but won't be able to continue without stress and worry until this is resolved."

CEASE, like many similar programs across the country, receives grants through acts including the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

For weeks, grantees were told to submit payment requests by 6 a.m. on Jan. 18 before DOJ staffers who process payments would be furloughed. On Friday morning, the Office of Justice Program website (which, like all of DOJ's pages, is not being regularly updated during the shutdown), still contained a disclaimer that the office would not be operational after 5 p.m.

At 4:50 p.m. Thursday, minutes before their offices began to close for the day, grantees began receiving word that the offices would continue to be funded.

Wyn Hornbuckle, deputy director of DOJ's Office of Public Affairs, confirmed to USA TODAY Thursday that the offices would remain funded through March 1.

Rep. José Serrano (D-NY), chairman of the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Committee, said while DOJ has found a temporary way to continue funding these efforts, "they may still run out of funding as long as the shutdown continues."

“We need a full funding bill to make sure that funding doesn’t run out for important VAWA, VOCA and other grant programs intended to help and protect victims of domestic violence and crime.”

Shelter and program directors were able to exhale as the notice came through, but say the state of uncertainty is taking a toll on their ability to render life-saving services and on morale for already underpaid staff.

"Listening to some of the most courageous but also heartbreaking stories" is part of everyday work for shelter and hotline staff, she said. "Then the same heroes who do this work every day are being told ‘You’re going to be laid off Monday — no wait, you have six more weeks.' It’s the toll on the psyche that makes me angry."

Southworth says many organizations in NNEDV were looking to credit and loans as options to ride out a lapse in funds, but interest charges and late fees can't be paid with grants so organizations would have to eat those costs.

More: The most dangerous place for a woman? Her home, UN study shows

More: Five generations of domestic violence prompts campaign to break cycle for young women

"Advocates are squirreling away their private money, they're cutting anything extra like meals for victims or bus tokens," Southworth said. "And all the hours we’re spending emergency planning we're never going to get back."

Alice Skenandore, director of Wise Women Gathering Place in Green Bay, Wisconsin, says four of its 12 grants come directly from the federal government to help pay for the nonprofit's Native American culturally-specific services for all victims of violence, including current rent payments for five families. If those were to be held up, Skenandore says she was prepared to cover payroll for Wise Women’s 21 employees through mid-February using a combination of credit, other grants and possibly taking out a loan.

Turning Point, the only agency dedicated to services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Macomb County, Michigan, a part of metro Detroit, began voicing concerns about the impact of the ongoing shutdown earlier this month. CEO Sharman Davenport said the shelter was at capacity, and if promised federal funds aren't paid out, she's unsure how long they'll be able to pay for necessities like heat and electricity.

Larger organizations, like the Sojourner Family Peace Center, the largest provider in Wisconsin, typically have reserves that can help tide them over until reimbursements are cleared. But none are immune from the painful decisions of what programs would be axed in order to keep their most vital functions solvent.

"I’m having to be very clear on a day-to-day basis, and having to forecast what I’m going to have to do when. It's familiar territory, but this is at a different level, it's threatening to choke off really vital services," said Sojourner president and CEO Carmen Pitre. "It's pretty incredible pressure in an area where there was already extreme pressure."

Unlike Soujourn, CEASE has no reserves, and little opportunity in their rural pocket of Appalachia to independently raise $100,000 to make up for the federal funds they rely on as two-thirds of their monthly $150,000 budget.

“We never turn anyone away that’s in a safety-need situation, we may put people on a couch for a night or two, but we try not to ever turn them away," Kelly said. "That’s where it's going to be really, really hard.”

CEASE ran at slightly over capacity last year as demand for services has remained high. Sojourner also saw an increase in clients in 2018.

NNEDV, citing a 2013 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, says an average of three women are killed every day by a current or former intimate partner. Nearly 1 in 5 adult women and about 1 in 7 adult men report having experienced severe physical violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That dire need hasn't helped break the stalemate in Washington, where lawmakers let the Violence Against Women Act lapse as negotiations around the federal budget hit an impasse over Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Proponents of VAWA rang the alarm in June, proposing an amended reauthorization, but it was caught up in partisan politics.

Advocates lament the loss of bipartisan support they've historically received. But say the hardest part of the political standstill has been the impact on staff.

“A lot of our staff live paycheck-to-paycheck, several are single mothers with multiple children that they’re taking care of. But just as hard as 'what are they going to do financially' is 'what are their clients are going to do without them?'” Kelly said. “I think that’s hitting them harder than their own loss. It’s the fear. We deal with life and death, and the clients that we work with depend on that advocacy. We literally could be putting peoples' lives in danger by not being easy to access.”

If you are experiencing violence or in need of help, you can chat with someone from the National Domestic Violence Hotline live at thehotline.org or if you are afraid your internet usage might be monitored, call them at 1−800−799−7233 or TTY 1−800−787−3224.

USA TODAY Network reporters Samantha Hernandez, Maryann Struman, Melissa Siegler, Alisa M. Schafer, Sophie Carson, Alison Dirr and Diana Dombrowski contributed to this report

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shutdown panics domestic violence shelters despite temporary, eleventh-hour reprieve