Look What the Governor Has Done This Time

Associated Press / July 23, 2009

In July of this year the governor of CA completely eliminated the state domestic violence funding program.  $16.3M statewide to serve battered women and their children was taken away with the stroke of a blue pen.  For my agency,  Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence (www.nextdoor.org) $200K is lost, money used to fund shelter and hotline advocates/case managers, money to buy food and keep the lights on.  I find a twisted irony in that the legislature enacted this funding program into law in 1994 after Nicole Brown Simpson’s murder.  Fifteen years later, the governor eliminated this program as at least five women died at the hands of their batterers in Northern CA.

And here’s me, sitting in front of my wall of fame wearing my power slippers.  Are you intimidated yet, Governor Schwartsnegger?  Over the past few weeks I’ve decided that our programs that provide safe haven are too vulnerable.  Victims who need immediate help should never have to worry about whether someone will be available to answer the hotline or find whether a space will be available for themselves and their children.  Government certainly has a role to play, but how can we be less reliant on this terribly unstable source?  I would love to hear your thoughts.  Just slip into your power slippers and think creatively.