California Shelters Forced to Close

2009-09-09 04:49:02 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - California, News)

Wired PR News reports several domestic violence shelters in California are closing due to budget cuts.

Several violence shelters in the state are reportedly closing due to budget cuts.

Press Release Service – Wired PR News – Several shelters that aid victims of domestic violence in California are closing their doors due to a lack of funding. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), six of the state’s domestic violence centers will close and a number of others will be forced to decrease their services as a result of budget cuts.

As noted by the AP, 94 agencies across the state received funding from the California Department of Public Health’s Domestic Violence Program; however, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger eliminated the $20.4 million budget for the program.

Schwarzenegger spokesperson Rachel Cameron is quoted as stating in response to disagreement with the action, “The governor understands how difficult these cuts are and sees the real Californians and the real consequences behind them, but had no other choice because the Legislature failed to pass a budget that closed the entire deficit.”

Eve Sheedy, domestic violence policy director with the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, is further quoted in the report as stating of the need for domestic violence centers and programs, “It’s the cheapest form of safety the state can have. It’s homicide prevention… If you take the cost of arresting, trying, incarcerating someone for a serious physical crime or homicide and you compare that to what these shelters were getting, it’s an unbelievable cost benefit.”

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