United Way cuts

Bad news on the Butler County homefront. Yesterday I received an email from the director of the Butler County Rape Crisis Program about some impending budget cuts to our services.

As my faithful readers may know, I have been volunteering as a victim advocate with the Rape Crisis Program in my spare time since May of 2009. My days as an advocate may be numbered, though, due to recent cuts from the Butler County United Way. As I understand it, the United Way's fund-raising campaign was not as successful as in years past, and as a result, they are cutting all of their mental health funding to member agencies. All of it. Instead of putting a small amount into mental health services, they have decided to amp up funding for their job-training programs, among other things, thinking that if people can get jobs they will not need to rely on United Way agencies for their needs. It's a good idea in theory, but the truth is that many people are working multiple jobs and still can't pay their bills. Of course, there are also limited job opportunities in Butler County right now, at least jobs that pay a living wage. No amount of job training will make up for that fact. But if we really think critically about this, the real issue is a matter of priority. If a person does not have access to counseling, treatment, and other mental health services to meet their immediate needs, no amount of job training classes will help that person hold down a job in the future.

So how does this affect the Rape Crisis Program? Well, Butler County United Way funding comes under the category of "mental health," so now that funding is cut. Normally, the RCP could make up such a loss, but the UW funding means more than just a single check. Federal grants rely on a cash match option, which has traditionally been met by the United Way. So without UW funding, the RCP loses their federal grants, as well. Translation: the Butler County Rape Crisis Program is losing 80% of their funding.

No organization can operate at 20% of their current capacity, and of course the program is at risk unless this funding can be recaptured. The program director is looking for any and all suggestions for finding more funding, and are happy to meet with any potential donors at any time.

I don't know what lies ahead in the coming days, but I do know that if the Butler Co. RCP can not recover from this loss, a tremendous service will be stripped from the community. It's hard to understand the importance of our services until you find yourself in the middle of a crisis; hurt, scared, confused, and otherwise alone. Thanks to this program, victims become survivors and their families learn how to cope and move forward out of crisis. Our educational programming helps school kids learn how to stay safe in their relationships, as well as with strangers. Our Hispanic/Latino outreach provides services to a typically under-served population, especially in Butler County.

Our community can not stand to lose this service. If you would like to support the Rape Crisis Program, please do not hesitate to contact me for more details.