The Tri-County Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault has been a key resource in the Northwoods for the past 45 years, but funding issues threaten its future.
The Tri-County Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault has been serving clients in Forest, Vilas and Oneida Counties since 1979.
They’re largely dependent on federal funding from the Victims of Crimes Act, or VOCA.
However, this year, VOCA’s funding was slashed, and Tri-County Council is feeling the impacts.
Normally, they were awarded $482,000, but this year, the amount is down to only $110,000, an almost 80% decrease in funding.
Tri-County Council was expecting the cuts, but not to that degree. They thought their funding might drop to $250,000.
Angie Fanning is the Director of the Tri-County Council.
“It affected a lot more than we had originally planned for,” she said.
They had to let go half of their staff and suspend overnight backup advocate services for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner exams, or SANE exams.
“Not being able to do that after hours is the huge, it's a devastating burden to victims who may potentially have to sit there by themselves while having this very invasive exam,” she explained.
They’ve had to terminate leases with some of their physical offices and while they still offer mobile advocacy services, it’s in a limited capacity now.
“Being able to pay our advocates to drive up to those counties in those very rural areas, is not something we even have in a budget,” explained Fanning.
At the same time, domestic violence and sexual assault rates in the Northwoods have been on the rise.
“We have such limited staff now that there might be some things that we will have to put off for these victims. And I can't even imagine being a victim and hearing well, you know, I am busy today, you know,” said Fanning.
Fanning says the organization is too grant-dependent and they need community support to keep providing services.