Pittsburgh City Council urges state to boost funding for local crisis centers

Pittsburgh City Council on Jan. 21 adopted a 'will of council' resolution urging the Pennsylvania General Assembly to increase ongoing funding for Pittsburgh Action Against **** and other sexual-assault/crisis centers across the Commonwealth.

Councilman Gross read the resolution into the record, noting that Pittsburgh Action Against **** — described in the resolution as the county’s sole **** crisis center — provided nearly 2,500 survivor contacts in the past year and that approximately 15% of those served were children. The resolution says PAR has not received a state funding increase in six years and that rising costs and workforce shortages have strained continuous 24/7 crisis response.

The resolution, which recognizes the role of the Gender Equity Commission in advancing the issue, calls on the Pennsylvania General Assembly to include increased, ongoing funding for **** crisis centers in the next Commonwealth budget. A motion to approve the resolution was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.

After the vote, representatives and supporters from Pittsburgh Action Against **** thanked council members for the action, described local staffing levels (about 35 staff) and countywide service, and urged higher compensation and sustained investment to preserve trauma-informed crisis response. A representative said, "They deserve an increase in their pay," and indicated the group would share the council action with the General Assembly.

The resolution is a formal statement of support by council but does not itself allocate city funds or change city programs. Council members did not record a formal roll-call tally in the meeting transcript; the item was approved by voice vote and entered into the record as adopted.

The council moved on to other business and scheduled a standing committee meeting later the same day.