Proposed Executive Budget for FY 10/11 Will Decimate Domestic Violence Services on Long Island

My name is Jeffrey Friedman, Executive Director of the Retreat.   For over two decades, the Retreat has been the only community-based, not-for-profit agency that provides direct domestic violence services and support for victims of domestic crimes on eastern Long Island. With people losing their jobs and being foreclosed from their homes, family violence has been on the rise and domestic violence service requests at the Retreat have increased nearly 40% in the most recent 12-month period. Simultaneously as demand for our services has been accelerating at a record-breaking pace, organizationally, we have seen dramatic funding cuts from our local government, in addition to a substantial drop in private donations.

The Proposed Executive Budget for FY 10/11 is essentially a complete elimination of all state funding for domestic violence services and will have a catastrophic effect on the women and children of our community.  If enacted, Governor Patterson’s proposed budget will place thousands of Long Island’s women and children in harms way. 

The Governor’s proposed budget contains the following critical elements: 1) Elimination of State Funds in the following areas: a. TANF – $3 million dollars in TANF  funds  previously available for non-residential services has been zeroed out. b. Child Protection/Domestic Violence Collaborations – elimination of state funding for these collaborations. 2) Significant cost shift/reduction: a. Title XX – All state funding will be eliminated leaving only federal and local dollars. This cost shift is actually an $18 million reduction for local districts.  b. General Fund – There will be no General Fund dollars being allocated to domestic violence programs and services in the State of New York. 

For the Retreat, the only community based domestic violence services organization on Eastern Long Island, these cuts would be deep and have great impact.  The following services would be drastically effected and/or eliminated due to funding cuts: A) Crisis Hotline — The 24/7 hotline provides: education, crisis intervention, and instant linkage of abused and/or threatened individuals to local and statewide resources such as shelter and emergency health services.  In 2008, the Retreat responded to 1,580 hotline calls. B) Legal Advocacy — Trained Retreat staff members accompany victims to court year-round and assist in the important process of obtaining orders of protection. Additionally, Advocates provide guidance and emotional support through stressful custody issues.  In 2008, the Advocacy program served 534 clients and provided 6,317 units of service.  [A "unit of service" is any separate, distinct instance of interaction with a client or member of the general public who benefits from our work.] C) Counseling — Individual and Group counseling is provided to adults and children year-round. Counseling sessions focus on empowerment.  Group counseling sessions combine education about abuse with mutual support to alleviate feelings of isolation.  In 2008, the Counseling program served 186 clients and provided a total 2,492 units of service.

We understand that New York has been hit hard by the economic crisis, but to decimate the state’s domestic violence budget at a time when the women and children of our community are most vulnerable is unacceptable. We cannot expect to overcome budget shortfalls on the backs of abused women and children. 

As you are aware, domestic violence is a matter of life and death for hundreds of thousands of women and children in New York. There simply is no excuse for domestic violence resources to fail to assist victims in need.  Without agencies like the Retreat, these victims have no place to turn and no safety net.  

The Retreat feels and acknowledges the impact of the nation’s economic downturn and the tough choices that are coming with it.   Our leadership team, including our Board of Directors, has recognized that, in this era, every penny counts even more. Even with the significant staffing cutbacks we implemented 2009, our staff and board continue to energetically contribute many long hours in dedication to our mission.  As just one example, a Retreat team member recently discretely assisted a battered woman at 4AM at a train station so that the woman could be escorted safely to a hospital and then to our emergency shelter.  Our team assured that she was not alone. With the funding cuts proposed, I am not sure that organizations like the Retreat can continue to survive and provide critical crisis services to abused women and children. 

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, ”If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” What the staff do at the Retreat is to provide hope for mothers and their children. Our staff show the people we serve that they can have a life free of violence and abuse. They show them they can be in loving nurturing relationships. 

Please keep that hope alive for our women and children.  I urge all community leaders to reexamine the state budget and restore funds to continue to help the abused women and children of our community.           

Thank you for your time and serious consideration of this matter.

 Jeffrey Friedman
Executive Director, The Retreat

On the December 5th episode of ”Saturday Night Live”, a parody featuring Tiger Wood’s domestic violence issues aired. The sketch made light of Tiger Woods’ scandalous week, satirizing reports that his wife, Elin Nordegren, attacked him prior to his early-morning car accident on November 27.  The musical guest for that show was none other than  Rihanna — a victim of domestic violence earlier this year from then-boyfriend Chris Brown. Domestic Violence is not a laughing matter, period. Furthermore, this sketch was made more inappropriate by having Rihanna as a guest.  

It is not acceptable for a man to hit a women or a women to hit a man. I can assure you had this scandal involved a male suspected of abusing a female,  Saturday Night Live would not have aired a lighthearted sketch like the one they did. However, since it’s female-on-male domestic violence, our current culture somehow deems this okay to poke fun.  

Violence in any relationship is not acceptable.  Its effects last a lifetime.  This sketch sends a message that sometimes violence in a relationship is “ok”.  Domestic violence service requests at the Retreat have hit record highs and have increased nearly 40% in the most recent 12-month period.  We are finding that during these trying economic times, household stress levels are swelling, and consequently incidents of emotional, physical and mental abuse have spiked.  The services of the Retreat help victims to find safety, independence, and empowerment.  Perhaps as importantly, through our targeted and confidential outreach and anonymous service offerings, we help people who are enduring such terrifying and soul-depleting abuses to identify their situations and to feel safe in talking about them and seeking immediate short- and long-term solutions.

Domestic Violence is a serious issue and will not be eliminated without everyone’s help.  During this holiday season, please remember to consider others that may be experiencing hardship, and how each one of us (no matter how small or large the contribution) can take steps toward making a difference.  For more information on Retreat’s community services or programs, please call our main office at 631.329.4398 or visit our website at www.theretreatinc.org 

Jeffrey Friedman
Executive Director 

Retreat

329-4398
www.theretreatinc.org

Suffolk County Public Hearing-Domestic Violence Registry legislation (IR 1314-09) Written Statement- Jeffrey Friedman, Executive Director of the Retreat November 30, 2009 Hello, my name is Jeffrey Friedman, Executive Director of the Retreat. For over two decades, the Retreat has been the only community-based, not-for-profit agency that provides direct domestic violence services and support for victims of domestic crimes on eastern Long Island. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to address the Domestic Violence Registry legislation. I applaud Legislator Gregory and our elected officials for bringing domestic violence to the forefront and having the courage to take on such a serious epidemic in our community. With that being said however, as a leader in the field of domestic violence services in our community, I strongly believe that this legislation is flawed and will not achieve the desired outcomes. By passing this legislation the hope is to ultimately reduce the number of domestic violence incidents in our community. If enacted this would have the opposite effect on family violence. After speaking with many of the women we serve, it is their belief that if this Registry had existed when they were engaged in an abusive relationship, that their abusers would have inflicted more pain and suffering as a form of retaliation for being publicly “humiliated.” One survivor stated that she strongly believed her husband would have returned and killed her if a consequence of his conviction would have resulted in him being included in this Registry. This Registry can also have the adverse affect of preventing victims from coming forward out of fear of retaliation. When we asked our survivors the question, “Do you feel that this Registry would prevent men from abusing their intimate partners out of fear of the information becoming public” their response was a resounding no. Another fear that was brought to our attention by the women the Retreat provides services to were the issues surrounding confidentiality. Once an abuser is made public, so are his intimate partner and his children. Now the survivor not only has to deal with the trauma that was inflicted, but she also has to deal with the fact that now this issue is also played out in the public eye. A victim’s confidentiality is protected in the Federal Violence Against Women Act. Just as the federal government has done, Suffolk County needs to continue to protect the rights of women and children in our community. With people losing their jobs and being foreclosed from their homes, family violence has been on the rise and domestic violence service requests at the Retreat have increased nearly 40% in the most recent 12-month period. Organizationally, we have seen dramatic funding cuts from Federal, State and Local Government, in addition to a substantial drop in private donations. Instead of using funds to setup a Registry, why not put these resources back into agencies like the Retreat that have a proven history of protecting our women and children. I urge all community leaders to reexamine this piece of legislation and the impact it will have on our women and children. Thank you for your time and serious consideration of this matter.