More work to do but less money to do it with — that’s what domestic violence agencies throughout western Massachusetts are up against as Domestic Violence Awareness Month takes place throughout October.
“We’re finding that there are a lot of new callers, and this has really been the case for the last year, with a lot of situations of much higher risk and fear,” said Safe Passage Executive Director Marianne Winters.
Winters said that calls to the Northampton-based domestic violence organization have increased 5% in the last 12 months, rising from 661 to 694.
“We’re also getting many more requests for basic emergency hotels, rooms to stay in, food, diapers, transportation,” she said.
Meanwhile, Safe Passage’s budget is projected to drop by about 10% next year, from $3.1 million to $2.9 million. Winters said one reason for the decline is the nonprofit received a one-time large bequest last year that won’t be factored into next year’s budget.
Additionally, the state’s current fiscal 2026 budget includes a 10% cut to Department of Public Health funding, which will mean about $80,000 for Safe Passage. That amount, which has yet to be officially cut, would be the equivalent to the salary for a full-time counselor, said Winters.
More worrisome for Safe Passage is next year’s state budget that is projected to slice DPH’s funding between 30-40%, Winters said.
Winters said Safe Passage has had to freeze or eliminate positions in both its outreach program and in its community and direct service programs.
“We do have some reserves that can carry us for a certain period of time, for a short period of time, but overall decreasing of capacity, increasing of need,” she said. “We’ve established a waiting list which is not ideal, but that’s where we are right now.”
To add to the trouble is the ongoing government shutdown that began on Sep. 30. Safe Passage receives about $100,000 a year in federal money, payment of which will likely be delayed for as long as the shutdown continues.
“We have one federal funding source through the Department of Public Safety and Security, and they likely won’t be able to pay our invoices,” Winters said. “We’re not going to immediately have to lay people off , because we’ll be able to cover that cash. But we’re concerned about how long this apparent standoff is going to last.”
Zoom out, and similar funding deserts are also plaguing other domestic violence agencies in western Massachusetts.
Resilience Center of Franklin County Executive Director Amanda Sanderson explained that her organization, formerly called the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition (NELCWIT), had 497 walk-in appointments last year and served more than 2,500 people from July 1, 2024 to June 30 of this year.
“There’s definitely an uptick in need [for service],” Sanderson said. “We’re seeing a lot of restraining order requests and cases, and housing continues to be the No. 1 thing that people need in order to leave a domestic violence relationship or to recover from it — to move from housing instability into not just a transitional place, but a permanent place.”
Both Winters and Sanderson said one reason there’s an increase in need is outreach efforts to let victims know about support services organizations provide in the area are working.
Winters also said that she has heard clients themselves say that Donald Trump being in the White House has “emboldened” perpetrators of domestic violence.
In addition to social and economic factors and a cultural return to toxic ideologies, social media is spreading these trends at an increasing rate, said Sanderson.
“There’s a lot of social media personalities who are pushing agendas that promote domestic violence, that promote coercive control, that promote condoning acts of sexual violence, so we’re seeing this cultural mindset shift,” she said. “We need more support for rural survivors, because there’s less housing, because there’s less transportation, because there are fewer lawyers out here who can take on a domestic violence case.”
Sanderson added that escaping from a violent relationship in a rural area can be particularly challenging, as there are fewer places for a survivor to find support and small-town pressures make it harder to get out of an abusive relationship.
Due to its rural location, a sexual and domestic violence crisis center like the Resilience Center of Franklin County in Greenfield can feel both isolated and incredibly visible, according to Sanderson. This can make it more difficult for domestic violence survivors to flee from, or avoid, their abusers.
Sanderson noted that of the Resilience Center of Franklin County’s approximately $1.8 million budget, around $1.1 million comes from the DPH. She said the federally funded Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance, another agency from which her program receives funding, is facing a $10 million cut. Rising insurance costs, she said, are also eating up a large portion of the organization’s budget.
“Recently, we’ve gotten some anonymous donors, but those are things that we can’t always depend on. We’re really grateful for them, but if they go away, we have no way to easily replace those funds,” she said. “We really depend on state funding. … If our agencies lose the state support, it would be very hard for us to raise $200,000 or $300,000 to cover the 10% to 20% decrease in funding.”
She encourages people to “reach out to your state and federal representatives and the governor, because I really think that the [staff at the] governor’s office, although they’re doing a lot of great things, aren’t aware of the ripple effect that they’re having on survivors and the most vulnerable.”