San Antonio: We need your help.
What We Know
Mid-June, we learned that the City of San Antonio Municipal Government is considering cutting $1.3M in funds for agencies that provide domestic violence “Safety Net” services (i.e. The Rape Crisis Center and Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc.).
Several comments were made in the city council session that funding agencies — like ours — only appears to be INCREASING the need and that perhaps the City needed to reconsider their investment and reroute funding to Workforce Development.
Some council members believe that if they target poverty, that it will positively impact sexual and domestic violence. And though in the grand scheme of things we understand the vulnerabilities of sexual violence, we also know that this is only a small piece of a much larger problem.
There were several other comments made that were short-sighted; you may read them for yourselves on NOWCastSA.
“Taking money from domestic violence prevention and putting it into workforce training may be a long-term strategy, but to think that just changing the funding will change outcomes is criminally short-sighted.” -Ron Nirenberg, District 8
Speak Out
Starting July 1, our staff, volunteers and anyone officially representing our agency will be unable to speak to their council members as they begin the “block out” period, so we need your help.
We ask for you to call your council member as a constituent and express your concerns with the City’s proposal of cutting funds to victim-serving agencies — specifically ours. If you’re an advocate, feel free to tell them how critical our role is at the hospital (that’s what the City funds). They need to understand how critical this service is and how rape and the prevention of rape is ALL of our issue to address.
Find Your Council Member
Click here to find your council member.
Please forward this message or share our Facebook post with any allies, clients, and supporters of the anti-violence movement. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us at 210-521-7273.
A united voice can make a significant difference. Thank you to the following council members for their outspoken opposition:
– Roberto C. Treviño (District 1)
– Rey Saldaña (District 4)
– Shirley Gonzales (District 5)
– Ron Nirenberg (District 8)
Related Posts:
Funding cuts for domestic violence prevention would hit mayor’s former district hardest
The Source: City May Cut Contribution To Safety Net Agencies
Vital agencies could lose city funding
Proposal to Cut Family Violence Prevention Programs Follows String of Grisly Child Abuse Cases