‘This is life or death’ Shelters for kids, families, victims cut from Lexington budget
Lexington shelters that serve women, children, domestic violence victims and families are weighing whether to cut staff or hours, serve fewer people or shut down some programs after receiving no funding in Mayor Linda Gorton’s proposed $372 million budget.
Gorton announced Tuesday that to make up for a more than $40 million shortfall in revenues caused by business-related shutdowns for the coronavirus pandemic, the city would have to nix $6 million in funding to agencies and nonprofits. On top of the cuts to nonprofits, Gorton is also proposing more than $12.5 million in cuts within city government for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Part of the $6 million in reductions was $2.1 million for the extended social resources grant program, which funds a host of social service agencies, including several key shelter programs.
Shelter programs cut from the budget include GreenHouse17, which serves domestic violence victims; Arbor Youth Services, which serves children; The Salvation Army of Central Kentucky, which serves women and children, and Community Action Council, which operates the only program that houses families in Central Kentucky.
The Hope Center, which serves single men, received money in Gorton’s budget because it is funded directly and does not have to apply for dollars through the extended social resources grant program, which is a competitive grant program.
Shelters considering staffing, service cuts
Shelter operators said they were “stunned” when they learned Tuesday the majority of Lexington’s shelter system was not being funded this year in Gorton’s budget.
“This is a public safety issue,” said Darlene Thomas, the executive director of GreenHouse17, which operates the only emergency shelter for victims fleeing intimate partner violence in Fayette County. The $150,000 from the city pays a good chunk of the operational costs for its shelter, which houses more than 40 people — about half of whom are kids.
Thomas said she receives other state funding and some federal money. The state funding largely covers clients in the 16 other counties GreenHouse17 serves. But the vast majority of her clients — more than 60 percent — are from Fayette County, she said. GreenHouse17 also received another $40,000 in city money for its farm program, which raises food on shelter grounds and sells it.
“This is life or death,” Thomas said of providing safe places for domestic violence victims. “I don’t understand. We were deemed critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, we kept our doors open, but the budget does not reflect that or the value we bring to this community.”
Thomas said her budget is stretched thin.
“We don’t know yet if our other grants are also going to be cut,” Thomas said. She can’t turn Fayette County domestic violence victims away. If the money is not restored or she can’t raise it, that likely means she will either have to cut hours or staff.
“These are local jobs,” Thomas said.
Arbor Youth Services received $237,000 in the past two years to help run two key programs — a street outreach and transitional housing program for homeless young adults age 18 to 24 and its youth shelter program. It’s the only youth shelter in the state that takes unaccompanied kids under the age of 8. It typically serves more than 200 kids a year in its shelter.
The city money was roughly 40 percent of the budget for both programs, said Lori Clemons, executive director of Arbor Youth Services. Clemons said Arbor Youth receives some federal money for runaway kids and other grant funding. But runaway kids are only a portion of the population they serve. Those grants are specific. They can’t move money from one population to the other, she said.
“If the money isn’t restored, at a minimum, we won’t be able to house as many kids,” Clemons said of its transitional housing program for kids 18 to 24.
The vast majority of the kids that come to the shelter are brought there by the police who find children in dangerous situations — such as in a home with a lot of drugs or a domestic violence situation.
“Those kids are brought here first, then they call Department of Community Based Services which does an investigation,” Clemons said. The shelter can bill child protection but only after an investigation is underway to determine if the child has been abused or neglected. Clemons said she doesn’t want to stop taking those kids brought by the police because there is no longer funding for that.
“I don’t know what we are going to do,” Clemons said. “It’s a huge chunk of money for our shelter. We don’t want to have to shut down.”
Gorton, in her budget speech, said it pained her to cut social service agencies funded through the extended social resources grant program, but the city’s finances could no longer support those programs given the dramatic decline in tax revenues.
She urged the community to make up for the lack of city funding with donations. Gorton also said some social service providers will receive additional funding for COVID-19-related expenses, which will help agencies’ bottom lines.
But Clemons and other executive directors of nonprofits say they already rely on donations to fund their programs.
“We have a loyal donor base, but they can’t fund an additional $230,000,” Clemons said.
Thomas agreed. Well-run social service agencies have diverse funding sources. But social service agencies budget based on prior year’s giving and grants.
“We were expecting a cut. We were not expecting to be zeroed out,” Thomas said of the city funding.
GreenHouse17 had to use some of its funding during the coronavirus pandemic to pay for emergency housing for victims fleeing domestic violence. That meant putting people up in hotels or helping people find apartments. Thomas said GreenHouse17 and other shelters have been told those expenses will likely be reimbursed, but they have received no details.
“That only covers those expenses,” Thomas said. “That does not fund operational expenses for my shelter for an entire year.”
One emergency housing program that could go away altogether is an innovative program that started several years ago to address the growing number of families that were experiencing homelessness. The Community Action Council’s Emergency Family Housing program temporarily houses families in apartments and provides case management to keep families housed.
It’s been a success.
“Since the Emergency Family Housing program’s inception, we have worked alongside 283 people, representing 78 households experiencing homelessness, and helping 88 percent of those households exit our program and into permanent housing,” said Melissa Tibbs, director of the office of planning, communications and advancement for the Community Action Council. “We believe this is a critical resource for our community as it is currently the only program in Lexington that allows for two-parent and group families experiencing homelessness to stay together in a shelter without requiring separation.”
Tibbs said the Community Action Council is still trying to determine if it can cobble together other funding to keep that program going. That program has received $163,000 in city money in prior years.
But that’s the problem, Clemons said.
“We are all critical,” Clemons said. If one program has to cut the number of people it serves, the need doesn’t go away. It just shifts to a different agency, she said.
“If the Salvation Army can’t serve women with children, then those children will come to us,” Clemons said.
Officials with the Salvation Army were not immediately available for comment. The Salvation Army shelter has previously received $320,000 in city money.
Private fundraising at a standstill during pandemic
Other social service agencies that have received money through the extended social resources grant program are also scrambling to find ways to offer services without city dollars.
Winn Stephens, the executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass, said his agency typically receives $120,000 from the city to help it provide forensic interviews, medical examinations and other services to more than 1,000 children who have been physically or sexually abused or neglected in Central Kentucky. That $120,000 grant is about 10 percent of the Children’s Advocacy Center’s total budget.
Stephens said the center receives federal and state funding. The state funding is largely for the remaining 16 counties the Children’s Advocacy Center serves. About 40 percent of the children it serves are from Fayette County. The work of the Children’s Advocacy Center helps child protection and law enforcement determine if a child has been abused. Stephens said the agency is hopeful that it can cover the loss of city funding without affecting services.
“But private fundraising has come to a standstill,” Stephens said. Given the uncertainty in the economy, corporate, foundation, and individuals are holding on to cash. Plus, to generate new donors, it takes cultivating relationships. The organization can’t do that given current social distancing guidelines, Stephens said.
Jon Parker, CEO of AVOL Kentucky, agreed. In-person fundraising is impossible right now. AVOL has received $100,000 in city money in prior years to expand HIV testing. If funding is not restored, that program will be severely curtailed. Other agencies provide HIV testing. But fewer agencies providing that test will mean fewer people tested and less education and prevention efforts to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS, Parker said.
Parker said cuts to one agency affect the entire social service network. The public safety net — already strained — will now have significant holes.
“Demand for services is already increasing,” Parker said.
Some council members say restore shelter funding
Several members of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, which has until June 30 to make changes to Gorton’s budget, said earlier this week the elimination of $2.1 million for shelters and social service agencies is a top concern.
“Some of them might stop serving citizens of Lexington or might completely go under,” said Councilwoman Angela Evans during a Tuesday council meeting. Evans said the council needed to consider finding money for some of those programs. The Tuesday meeting was the council’s first meeting about the budget.
Vice Mayor Steve Kay agreed. Kay said he would entertain either tapping more of the city’s savings accounts to restore at least some money to social service agencies or consider raising a tax.
“I think we need to take a very hard look at the cuts that have been made that affect the people who may be able to least afford them,” Kay said.
Council will continue deliberations on Gorton’s budget proposal over the next several weeks.
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 1:07 PM.
