Dear Chairperson Mendelson and Members of the DC Council,

We are writing to you because it is vital, now more than ever, to invest in essential domestic violence services. As our community focuses on recovery and healing in the coming year, there will be an influx of survivors seeking services in the District and domestic violence programs will need the tools and resources to respond effectively. We are asking for a $5 million investment in the FY21 budget for life-saving domestic violence services for the District.

In these challenging times as we both respond to a pandemic and address the longstanding systemic inequities and continued brutality against Black and Brown communities, we know that survivors of domestic violence, particularly survivors of color, need adequate supports and services more than ever. Even before our current and difficult reality, rates of domestic violence in the District were far too high. In DC, 50 percent of women have experienced psychological aggression perpetrated by an intimate partner and 39 percent have experienced sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking perpetrated by an intimate partner. Now, we know that rates of violence are increasing as survivors are forced to stay home in dangerous situations.

While it is too early for full District-wide data, our member programs and partners have already seen an increase in calls from survivors needing support since stay at home orders were put in place. The DC Victim Hotline has seen a 20% increase in calls related to intimate partner violence. One of our culturally specific member programs has seen an 80% increase in calls from survivors asking for help. And, due to the current strain on resources across the District, the time it takes for advocates to support survivors is increasing; one DV program reports a 44% increase in time spent assisting survivors in crisis. We expect that this influx of requests for services will only continue to grow as stay at home orders are lifted and survivors are able to leave their homes and come forward to seek support from advocates.

The flat-funding for domestic violence services in Mayor Bowser’s proposed FY21 budget does not take these realities into account, and ultimately fails survivors by not addressing their very real and increasing needs. This is why DCCADV and our member programs are asking for an additional $5 million dollars in the FY21 budget:

• $3 million to close the current funding gap to build a new domestic violence crisis shelter in the District that will double our current DV crisis shelter capacity by providing 30 units of housing for 700-800 individuals or families who are fleeing abusive relationships; and

• $2 million to support DC’s domestic violence programs as they provide housing, culturally specific, legal, counseling/case management, and outreach services to a growing number of survivors in the year ahead.

We are grateful for the Council’s historic and continued support of survivors of domestic violence and their families, and are counting on each of you to center the experiences and needs of survivors in the District’s recovery efforts. Invest $5 million in essential and life-saving domestic violence services and send the clear message that DC stands with survivors.

Signed,