TITLE
Recommendation to respectfully request City Council to take a position for the approval of reauthorizing the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA); and City Attorney to draft a resolution expressing its support of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act on the basis that this City Council stands to provide more services to more families and that it re-affirms our support to effectively break the cycle of violence.
DISCUSSION
Domestic violence directly impacts one in four women over a lifetime and 15.5 million children every year. This violence and abuse is devastating, costly and can be deadly. Each day in this country, an average of three women are killed by current or former intimate partner.
To respond to the needs of victims of domestic violence, there are over 2,000 community-based domestic violence programs for survivors and their children, providing emergency shelter to approximately 300,000 victims annually and offering services such as counseling, crisis lines, safety planning, legal assistance, and preventative education to millions of adults and children annually.
These effective programs save and help rebuild lives. A recently released multi-state study shows conclusively that the nation's domestic violence shelters are addressing both urgent and long-term needs of victims of violence, and are helping victims protect themselves and their children. Yet community-based domestic violence programs report that they cannot meet the overwhelming demand for services. In fact, in just one day, a total of 8,927 requests for services went unmet because programs lacked the resources to meet the victims' needs.
Next year, the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) will expire. The law is responsible for over $600 million annually going to nearly 25 different programs to create and support comprehensive, cost-effective responses to prevent and respond to domestic violence. FVPSA funded programs are the heart of our nat...
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