New York Set to Balance Budget on the Backs of Women and Families

The good news: domestic violence arrests were up by 7% in New York City between 2009 and 2010, while indictments were up by 36% over the same period.

Unfortunately, while more batterers being held accountable is undoubtedly a good thing, advocates say the higher rate of arrest corresponds with an increase in the overall occurrence of domestic violence. That's bad news. According to Ruth Villonga, spokeswoman for the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, the New York Family Justice Center currently sees a hundred more people a week seeking domestic violence services compared to last year.

Even worse news is that the domestic violence resources New York women rely on to escape abusive relationships and rebuild their lives are on the chopping block. According to Allison Sesso, Deputy Director of the Human Services Council, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget included a $1 million cut to non-residential domestic violence services that will impact thirteen programs in New York, including the one program that serves domestic violence survivors with disabilities.

The Human Services Council has started a campaign called "Who Cares? I Do" to protest the sweeping cuts to vital human services in the state budget. The campaign has launched a petition on Change.org asking state and city officials to protect New York’s women and families from bearing the brunt of cost-cutting measures.

In addition, the Governor’s budget slashes funds for homeless shelters and programs that help families move from the shelter system into their own homes. Women make up 80% of homeless adults with families in the New York shelter system, and 28% of families in the system are homeless due to domestic violence.

According to the Who Cares? campaign, domestic violence victims and their families will also be uniquely impacted by the Mayor’s proposal to cut 16,624 seats from the childcare system. “Particularly for DV victims, adequate child care is not only important for their children’s learning and their ability to work, but is also a safety issue," explained Sesso. "Many DV victims cannot rely on family and friends because it is not safe for them to leave their children with someone their abuser knows and can find easily."

The State budget has already passed, but New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is set to release his final budget this week and advocates are appealing to him to restore funding to vital human services programs for the city. If he doesn’t, they hope that City Council members will make the budget cuts a sticking point during negotiations set to take place over the next two months.

“Need is growing everyday at shelters, food pantries, child care centers, and DV programs. At the same time, these programs are on life support, having already cut staff to the bone and eliminated program components. Further cuts, mean that programs and even some organizations, will be forced to close and no alternatives will be available,” Sasso said.

Sign the petition to tell Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council to protect New York City women and families by protecting vital human services.