Your war dollars at work.

[unhappycamper]

Anthia Elliott took a call at Safe Passage. The Northampton facility offers services for victims of domestic violence.


Shelters can't help all fleeing abuse
By Maria Cramer
Globe Staff / January 14, 2008

Domestic violence shelters across the state are becoming overwhelmed and are increasingly turning victims away, driving some of those seeking help back to abusive partners or to the streets, according to advocates and shelter program directors.

The number of victims turned away from shelters more than quadrupled, from 1,374 in fiscal 2003 to 5,520 in fiscal 2005, according to Jane Doe Inc., a statewide coalition against sexual assault and domestic violence that also tracks trends.

On many days, only one bed will be available in the state for 100 people who call domestic violence hotlines seeking shelter. Sometimes, none can be found.

~snip~

Since 2003, federal funding for domestic violence programs in Massachusetts, which helped pay for shelters, has decreased. From fiscal 2003 to fiscal 2006, funding from the US Department of Health and Human Services went from $1.85 million to $1.78 million. During the same three-year period, a grant from the Department of Justice decreased from $2.8 million to $2.54 million, according to Jane Doe Inc.

In 2006, after DSS, under former governor Mitt Romney, renegotiated contracts that shifted funding from shelters, several agencies lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in shelter funding. The change forced Casa Myrna Vasquez to close its seven-bed emergency shelter.


Rest of article at: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/01/14/shelters_cant_help_all_fleeing_abuse/

[gratuitous]

1. We can't do anything about domestic violence

Because we're too preoccupied with inflicting foreign violence.

Money for shelters? Sorry, ain't got none. See, we bought a couple of bright, shiny wars a few years ago. Well, they're not very bright or shiny anymore, and the upkeep on them is real expensive. So we don't have any money left over for luxuries like taking care of our citizens. If you're in an abusive relationship, well that's tough, but not anything that the rest of the community can do anything about. We have to spend all our common money to maintain these wars. The Cult of Redemptive Violence, the one that transforms our military personnel into angels of death, gets first priority after some more tax cuts for the overrich, the war profiteers, and the other economic traitors to the country.

And no, you can't ask Mitt Romney any specific questions about the policies he enacted as governor of Massachusetts.