President Trump's team is preparing its first budget and, true to his campaign promises, Trump's team wants to cut funding to many government programs. Among these are the Violence Against Women grants, which fund programs to prevent, prosecute, and assist victims of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault.
Why should you care? If someone that you love is sexually assaulted tomorrow, do you know what to do to preserve evidence so that the perpetrator is brought to justice?
The VAW grants provide training for law enforcement and medical personnel so they can ensure that all evidence is preserved. If your daughter's ex-boyfriend won't stop making harassing phone calls, do you know how to get a restraining order? The VAW grants fund advocates who will help you with every step of the process.
If your sister's husband gets drunk and starts beating on her again, does she have a safe place that she and the kids can go? The VAW grants pay for shelters. What if your sister wants to get out of her abusive marriage, but doesn't know how to file divorce papers and can't afford an attorney? The VAW grants support programs that can help her get the free legal advice she needs to protect herself and her kids.
Are you worried about your daughter's safety when she goes away to college next year? The VAW grants support several programs to help reduce domestic and sexual violence on college campuses and to assist those that are the unfortunate victims of such violence.
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Large urban centers will still have organizations with the resources to provide some of these resources. This won't help us. We are a rural community. Without government grants, the organizations available to us in west central Minnesota will likely be unable to keep their doors open.
This affects all of us. Write to our senators, our state representative, and to our new president to express your feelings about these important grants. The federal budget is bloated and needs to be trimmed, but not at the expense of our wives, sisters, and daughters.
Samuel Weeks
Willmar
