During the most recent legislative session, my colleagues and I worked diligently to replace funds cut from federal spending to support the Victims of Crimes Act. While this was originally introduced to the legislature as a bill, sponsored by Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, it was lumped into the state’s overall budget for a one year allotment of $6M. These funds are to replace a federal cut that would have caused a 60% decrease in services for victims of violent crime. These funds will go to the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Pine Tree Legal, and many more organizations across our state whose core mission is helping Mainers in need. 

Recently, I attended the first Finding Our Voices event in Boothbay at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Finding Our Voices is a grassroots nonprofit marshaling survivor voices and stories to break the silence of domestic abuse across Maine. In addition to domestic abuse awareness programs, such as the "Let’s Talk About It" tour, you have probably seen their signature poster campaigns in Boothbay and Damariscotta in the past years. Each poster features a Maine survivor of domestic violence, letting others know that they aren’t alone and raising awareness of the often hidden issue. 

 The survivor-led forum included the stories of survivors and family members with a focus on supporting women dealing with post-separation abuse and the resources needed to keep adults and children safe from domestic abuse. The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens rarely hosts outside events, but wanted to support this group as nature and plants were a featured source of comfort and healing in the women’s stories. Finding Our Voices relies solely on donations and private grants to fill gaps in our network of supports for domestic violence prevention services. While the funding for VOCA has been slowly dwindling over the years, the need has not. 

This cut in funding would have been a crisis in our state. The funding supports many victim services, like those needed in the aftermath of the Lewiston shooting. Victim Advocates were on call for families of the deceased - helping them process, navigate the aftermath of losing a loved one, and assisting family members payment for funeral services. With a potential 60% cut in financial aid, I was proud to stand alongside Sen. Carney to support this legislation. However, the fight isn’t over. The $6 million that was allotted during the last legislative session was one time funding. That means legislators will have to find a way to supplement this cut in the years to come. The solution isn’t clear, but as long as I am in the legislature, I will fight for victims and their families to ensure they have access to basic needs in a time of crisis. We will do all we can while Congress fights for the funding required to make this possible, but until Congress can step up to the plate, we have to support these services.

Please reach out with any ideas or concerns.