How to Help

1. Tell the Governor to Save Our Shelters

Please take a moment to add your name to our letter to the Governor to restore funding for Domestic Violence Shelters.
Click here to sign the Letter.

2. Sign up for our Red Alerts

In the near future, the legislature will take on the funding of our shelters. We need as many people as possible ready to respond immediately to a call of action!

To sign up, enter your email address below:

3. Join the coalition on Facebook

Share this link with your friends and family so that they can act immediately. It is critical that we build a large coalition of individuals to contact our legislators and be ready to act on a moment's notice, as often times the legislative process leaves mere hours for our voices to be heard.

If you or a friend are in immediate need of help, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800)799-Safe (7233) or the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence toll free number (800)524-4765.

Fighting for our victims

With your help we can put a stop to Governor Schwarzenegger's deadly cuts that completely eliminate funding to the state's domestic violence shelters. We want to ensure that our most vulnerable population is protected and has the appropriate resources when they are needed most.

Schwarzenegger's misguided cuts

Throughout his term, Governor Schwarzenegger has shown a willingness to balance the state budget on the backs of domestic violence victims. In July 2009, Schwarzenegger unilaterally cut $16.3 million from the Department of Public Health's Domestic Violence Program. This action gave new meaning to the phrase "penny wise, pound foolish" since eliminating the program would increase health care, law enforcement and other costs as domestic victims are left out in the cold. With your help, Senator Yee introduced and successfully passed legislation to restore this misguided cut, allowing the shelters to remain open for at least one more year.

More of the same

Unfortunately, with the unveiling of the Governor's new budget, we see his old, misguided proposal rear its ugly head. The Governor is proposing to once again eliminate all future funding for the domestic violence shelter program.

Who it hurts

The 94 domestic violence shelters and call centers throughout California serve over a 150,000 women and children each year.

Funding for domestic violence centers are already past their breaking point, on average 7,348 adult victims are turned away from shelters each year due to over-capacity. When victim services requests are unmet due to a lack of resources it's not only adults that suffer - it is estimated that 53% of persons served by shelters are children. When the resources do not exist for victims to receive domestic violence services, they are often left with no choice but to risk their own lives by returning to their abusers. The Domestic Violence Program funds allow local agencies to provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, and legal advocacy, as well as assistance with restraining orders, counseling and other vital support services.

In the short amount of time since the funding was eliminated, 6 shelters have closed their doors, leaving victims most in need of help with nowhere to turn. The closed shelters have already affected all areas of the state - both rural and urban - and include Madera, Grass Valley, and Ventura. In addition, the shelters that have been able to remain open have drastically cut services and have been forced to turn away women and children at their most vulnerable time.