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Domestic‑violence network leaders ask Senate to preserve and increase survivor services funding after federal cuts and recent tragedies
Summary
Representatives of domestic‑violence shelters, advocacy groups and family‑justice centers described federal‑grant losses and surging crisis calls after a high‑profile mass killing in Shreveport; they asked senators to preserve House allocations in HB 1 and to add supplemental funds for shelters, legal services and a domestic‑abuse fatality review panel.
A coalition of domestic‑violence shelters, advocacy networks and family‑justice centers urged the Senate Finance Committee to preserve and expand state funding for survivor services after describing sharp increases in crisis calls, federal grant reductions and local tragedies.
Mariah Wineske (Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence) and other representatives summarized three years of state investments that expanded shelter capacity statewide and warned that federal funding cuts and other losses put that progress at risk. Project Celebration in Shreveport reported a 549% increase in crisis calls in the weeks after a high‑profile April mass killing, and Faith House in Acadiana said it had to turn away hundreds of survivors in the past year due to lack of space.
Speakers requested specific line items or supplemental appropriations: a coalition representative asked the committee to maintain current domestic‑violence funding in HB 1, to appropriate an additional $3,000,000 to the shelter network, and to allocate $200,000 to the Department of Health to operate a Domestic Abuse Fatality Review Panel. Family Justice Center leaders asked for continuation of recurring funding at a reduced request level (example: $500,000 for a multi‑parish Family Justice Center, citing increased VOCA and other matching funds that partially offset the ask).
Advocates framed the funding as prevention and public‑safety investments that pay down longer‑term costs related to healthcare, legal services and criminal justice. Committee members expressed condolences for recent victims and said they would consider the requests as they balance competing budget priorities; no formal appropriation changes were made at the hearing.
