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Domestic violence service provider warns federal funding cuts could jeopardize housing support
Summary
Fearless, a Sullivan County nonprofit serving victims of domestic violence, told the Health and Human Services committee that almost 90% of its funding is federally sourced and that delays or cuts to federal contracts could reduce local housing options for survivors.
Sarita Green, a representative of Fearless, told the Sullivan County Health and Human Services meeting that nearly 90% of her nonprofit’s operating funds come from federal sources and that recent disruptions in federal contracting pose a risk to services for survivors of domestic violence.
"For our small nonprofit, almost 90% of our funding is tied to federal dollars," Green said, reporting that the organization handled more than 11,000 hotline calls last year and provided outreach and education to nearly 1,000 adults and almost 600 young people in the county.
The concern centers on a HUD-related contract administered through a regional "balance of state" housing consortium serving eight rural counties; Fearless is one of the local recipients of that pooled funding. County officials told the committee they have seen HUD contract delays and in some cases a pause in funding flows that could affect local supportive housing and emergency placements.
County staff emphasized they have not yet seen a specific local program termination but are passing information to federal elected officials and monitoring the situation. The county said Catholic Charities and Fearless are among local recipients of the balance-of-state program; Catholic Charities currently receives funding for 28 permanent supportive housing beds through that same program.
Green also described ongoing local programming: weekly campus advocacy at SUNY Sullivan, an expanding relationship with the county child advocacy center and an upcoming summer youth leadership academy for high-school-age students. She left flyers and noted an application is available on the agency website.
The committee did not take formal action on the item during the meeting; staff and advocates said they would continue outreach to federal representatives and monitor upcoming HUD guidance and contract settlements.
