San Jose Spotlight: State cuts will hurt Santa Clara County domestic violence services
Santa Clara County residents fleeing domestic violence may have a harder time finding safety come July.
Due to a slashing of federal funding for crime victims, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a nearly 45% reduction in money to crime victim services in the state. These cuts could mean the shuttering of domestic violence shelters, longer wait times for crisis hotline assistance and services like counseling, staff layoffs and as many as 19,200 unmet requests for shelter, according to the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.
Without funding from the state, Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said the county could lose up to 40% of its emergency shelter and housing programs. In addition, 30% of rape crisis and child abuse services could be cut. Chavez rallied with a coalition of Bay Area advocates in front of San Jose City Hall on Friday to speak out against the cuts.