*Read the original Waltham Times article here
Alongside a team of nearly 30 at Reach Beyond Domestic Violence, Executive Director Amarely Gutiérrez Oliver helps provide free services and support for 27 cities and towns in Massachusetts.
The Waltham-based nonprofit was among 94 victim service agencies awarded federal funding this fiscal year from the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance. It’s one of two federally-funded grants Reach relies on.
While Reach was awarded the grant this year, Gutiérrez Oliver said federal cuts to social service programs and a recent increase in demand for services are posing challenges for the organization.
“We’re beyond capacity at this point, and if people are having to wait anywhere from two to four weeks to actually be seen by one of our advocates that could mean being homeless with nowhere to go to potentially being hospitalized,” said Gutiérrez Oliver.
Reach’s emergency assistance shelter is one of many reportedly experiencing high demand in the state.
Senior Attorney Liz Alfred, part of the Greater Boston Legal Service housing unit’s shelter team, said finding space in nonemergency assistance shelters is nearly impossible.
“There are very few options outside of the emergency assistance system,” said Alfred. “Our current system and our current resources don’t necessarily meet the need for that.”
Alfred said many emergency assistance shelters in Massachusetts have waiting lists and sometimes income eligibility requirements or immigration status requirements that must be met in order to qualify to be placed on a list.
Both Gutiérrez Oliver and Alfred named the current political climate as a driving force posing major challenges for survivors when it comes to seeking resources.
“There has not been a lot of political will to create a system to make sure that everybody who needs help because they are experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence actually gets that help,” Alfred said.
A chilling effect
Gutiérrez Oliver also said the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in communities is prompting survivors to stop seeking help altogether for fear of deportation.
“So they see this van by, let’s say, the Police Department, then they think, ‘Oh my gosh, the Waltham Police Department is helping ICE, I can’t call them for help.’ That might not be the case … but it etched an image in their mind that said it’s no longer a safe place,” she said.
Additionally, the connections Reach once used to provide legal services to those in need are dwindling, with Gutiérrez Oliver saying she now has just a short list of attorneys to call when legal resources are required.
“[Attorneys are] backing away and saying things like, ‘I can’t help you because I don’t want my license to be taken away because I’m helping you,’” she said.
Access to resources such as shelters and legal services through agencies like Reach is a crucial step in survivor support, according to Waltham Police Domestic Violence Unit Detective Linda Moschner.
“With these agencies and with talking to the right people, coming up with a plan, I think that it’s important to know that you can move forward,” said Moschner.
In order to keep Reach’s resources available at a time when the future of its grant funding is uncertain, Gutiérrez Oliver is calling on the community for support through volunteering.
Donors, she said, are a way to bridge growing financial gaps left by federal cuts moving forward.
“Although this funding might disappear federally, can foundation A, B and C give us the same amount for the next three years to help us get through so that this community can receive what they need?” she said. “The only way we’re going to get through this is as a community.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence in Waltham or nearby, contact Reach Beyond Domestic Violence’s hotline at (800) 899-4000 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233.
