Your support in making calls is appreciated!

-Terri
Terri L. Hamrick, MNM
Executive Director
Survivors, Inc.
Post Office Box 3572
Gettysburg, PA  17325
(717) 334-0589 Extension 22
Facsimile (717) 334-3576
Email:  Terri@...
 Visit us on the web!  http//:www.survivorsservices.org         
Mission Statement
Survivors supports those who experience domestic violence or sexual assault
and strives to create a world in which violence against women and children
is unthinkable.


-----Original Message-----
From: Nicole A. Lindemyer [mailto:nal@...]
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 12:20 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: ACTION ALERT! Calls Needed on Federal Funding!
Importance: High


(Feel free to forward this message to your program's supporters!)

As the new administration makes its transition and works to finalize an FY
09 federal budget, NOW IS THE TIME to call your US Senators and key
Representatives to let them know how important it is to increase funding for
domestic violence services! Calls take only minutes, yet can have a huge
impact!

Below are messages/talking points on VOCA, FVPSA, and VAWA. Please include
as much information on the call as is appropriate (more if speaking with a
knowledgeable staffer, less if just leaving a message). In general, the
request is to:
1) RAISE THE VOCA CAP TO ONE BILLION DOLLARS;
2) REAUTHORIZE AND FULLY FUND the Family Violence Prevention and Services
Act (FVPSA) AT $175 MILLION; and
3) FULLY FUND the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)!!!

Please make calls to:

Senator Arlen Specter: (202) 224-4254

Senator Robert Casey: (202) 224-6324

Representative Chaka Fattah (Appropriations Committee member): (202)
225-4001

Representative John Murtha (Appropriations Committee Member): (202) 225-2065

(The above persons are those involved in key funding decisions. Please also
feel free to call your other U.S. Representatives, as well. For their
contact info, go to www.house.gov and look them up by state/county/zip
code.)

When you call your Senators and Representatives, please tell them:

1) I'm a constituent in (CITY, COUNTY), PA (or calling from (PROGRAM NAME)
which serves domestic violence victims in his district), and I'm calling to
urge Senator/Representative _______ to increase VOCA, FVPSA, and VAWA
funding for domestic violence services. May I speak with the staff person
responsible for VOCA, FVPSA, and VAWA funding issues?

2) I want to THANK the Senator/Congressman for his support for domestic
violence services funding. I know he is a great ally in the movement to end
violence against women, and I really appreciate his work.

3) As the federal budget is being crafted, I want to stress the need for
increased funding for domestic violence services. As the economy worsens
and our costs skyrocket, we are seeing an even greater demand for services.
Victims need support services to break free of abuse, and programs need
increased funding to meet victims' needs. In particular, we need the
Senator/Congressman to:

- RAISE THE VOCA CAP TO ONE BILLION DOLLARS
- The VOCA Crime Victims Fund is paid entirely by criminal fines and
penalties, NOT taxpayer dollars.
- The VOCA Fund has nearly $1.9 billion in it, but the cap needs to be
raised in order to release that money to community-based victim assistance
programs
- In FY 08, the VOCA Fund cap was CUT BY $35 million, then cut another
$34 million to pay for administrative costs in the Office of Justice
Programs (OJP).
- Those cuts are devastating to community-based programs like (PROGRAM
NAME). We have lost (AMOUNT OF YOUR PROGRAM'S DECREASE IN VOCA $) in FY 08,
and are scheduled to lose another ______ effective July 09.
- We are really struggling to meet the needs of the victims who come to
us in crisis. We just can't withstand more cuts without a devastating
impact on victim services.
- Raising the VOCA cap for FY 09 MUST be a top priority in this federal
budget.

- REAUTHORIZE AND FULLY FUND the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act
(FVPSA) AT $175 MILLION
- FVPSA provides core funding to domestic violence shelters and
programs, and pays for · essential services like · emergency shelter, crisis
hotlines, legal advocacy, and counseling.·
- FVPSA received only $122 million dollars in FY 08, which is more than
$50 million BELOW its authorized amount.
- As the economy worsens and more victims turn to our program for help,
we must make sure we can continue to meet their needs.
- FVPSA NEEDS TO BE FULLY FUNDED at its authorized level of $175
million to meet the growing demand for services.

- FULLY FUND the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
- Since enacted in 1994, VAWA has had an enormous impact on millions of
individuals and families, and has averted billions of dollars in averted
social costs.
- VAWA includes many programs targeted at specific needs, like legal
assistance for victims, grants for rural areas, and STOP grants to engage
law enforcement personnel in developing coordinated community responses.
- However, VAWA's potential remains unfulfilled, as it has never been
fully funded at its authorized level.
- · In order to continue the progre· ss of VAWA and FVPSA and to meet
the growing demand for services, Congress should invest in ending domestic
violence by supporting these successful and cost-effective programs.

While we recognize the fiscal restraint required by this year's tight
budget, we know that TARGETED INCREASES IN VOCA, FVPSA, and VAWA HELP THOSE
MOST IN NEED while also making SOUND INVESTMENTS IN PENNSYLVANIA'S HEALTH
AND SAFETY.

4) THANK YOU so much for responding to the needs of victims by supporting
increases in VOCA, FVPSA, and VAWA funding.

Note: If the person you are speaking with asks for additional information,
don't forget to follow up by sending it! Please CALL ME and I will help you
with any additional materials needed.

THANK YOU for your calls, and for all your work! Have a wonderful holiday
season!

Nicole A. Lindemyer, Esq.
Policy & Special Projects Manager
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV)
6400 Flank Drive, Suite 1300
Harrisburg, PA 17112
(717) 545-6400, ext. 205
nal@...