According to multiple reports, which I first noticed on Feministing, Gov. Schwarzenegger has cut ALL – as in, 100% – of state funding to domestic violence shelters in California. According to one newspaper report about the funding slash:
“Although the state Legislature submitted a budget with a 20 percent reduction to the $20.4 million the state provides to agencies that offer domestic violence services, Schwarzenegger slashed the funding by 100 percent Tuesday.”
Of course, this was not the only funding cut for a state that is experiencing deep financial troubles (and granted, there is no easy way out and someone or some agency will always be disappointed to lose support). Funding was also cut in other areas related to AIDS prevention, infant health and health insurance for poor children, according to reports from the LA Times and San Bernadino’s The Sun. Given the violence that so many women and children experience in their homes or from women’s partners, particularly in stressful economic times (during which some shelters are reported an increased need in services), you can imagine what a devastating blow this is for many women and children who are in need, quite literally, of shelter.
[via Feministing]
