The organization fighting sexual violence in the Brazos Valley will be forced to cut services for sexual assault survivors unless private donors offset significant cuts in federal and state funding. Lindsey LeBlanc, Executive Director of the Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC), said the private, nonprofit agency has been notified in recent days of cuts totaling over $260,000 for the year beginning Sept. 1.
The amount creates a funding hole of more than 35 percent of SARC’s annual budget. The agency’s biggest operating expense is the salaries of five counselors who assist hundreds of sexual assault survivors with thousands of counseling sessions annually. Demand for crisis and counseling services has increased more than 10% since the pandemic struck in March 2020.
“We’ve seen a steep rise in services needed and are serving more counseling clients than ever in the history of our organization,” LeBlanc says. “We expect the needs of survivors will continue to rise this fall as students return to the area and the world resumes more in-person activities. At SARC, we will steam ahead to serve as many clients as we can. But we need the community’s help more than ever.”
The community can support SARC through their newly-launched "Be a Light" campaign by making a donation on the SARC website and pressing the "Donate" button near the top. Or scroll to discover how to contribute and attend the annual “Evening Under the Stars” Gala on Friday, Oct. 8.
It’s SARC’s primary fundraising event of the year where leaders of the Brazos Valley community come together to dine, dance, listen to music, and support SARC’s efforts to eliminate sexual violence and serve survivors.
In addition to counseling services, SARC helps survivors pay unforeseen expenses and obtain free legal help with protection orders. The agency’s 24/7 crisis hotline — (979) 731-1000 — receives more than 1,500 calls a year. SARC also strives to reduce sexual violence through education and prevention outreach events.
The biggest source of funding loss for SARC is connected to a grant associated with the federal Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA. SARC is also dealing with cutbacks in grants funded by the federal Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) and the Other Victims Assistance Grants (OVAG) program, which is run by the state’s Attorney General’s Office.
VOCA and VAWA grants in Texas are administered by the governor’s Public Safety office. All three grants have become increasingly competitive as agencies scrap for funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cut in VOCA funds comes after Congress and President Biden in July heralded passage of legislation called the VOCA Fix.
The legislation restores a critical source of VOCA’s victims’ assistance fund — deposits from non-prosecution and deferred prosecution agreements in federal courts. The deposits had been diverted to other uses in recent years. But the fund was not replenished with an immediate infusion of money.
“It’s going to take two or three years to restore that fund to a point that an agency like SARC might benefit again,” Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, Rose Luna says.
Luna encourages donors in the Brazos Valley to rally behind SARC to fill the gap. “As one of only eight stand-alone rape crisis centers in Texas, SARC provides a tremendous service to the community. It deserves donations to help offset the unfortunate impact of the VOCA cliff.”
In addition to visiting the SARC website, donors can mail contributions to the Sexual Assault Resource Center. For more information, visit sarcbv.org.
Courtesy of SARC BV
