U.S. Rep. urges members of Congress to support Domestic Violence Programs

Photo Courtesy to Davis Facebook page 

WASHINGTON-  Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis led 114 members of Congress in urging House and Senate leadership to include additional help for domestic violence programs in any future Coronavirus aid package.

Also, Davis’ letter calls on leadership to work in a bipartisan way to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

“As Americans are told to stay at home, those who feel in danger at home are especially impacted,”said Davis.

Davis is calling of the federal government to grant flexibility to these programs and provide additional funding to help cover these new costs to shelters.

“Shelters in my district and across the country have been forced to change how they work to protect victims of domestic violence because of Coronavirus and more federal support is needed,” said Davis.

The concerns listed in the letter have been echoed by the director of the Dove Domestic Violence Program in Decatur.

Photo courtesy to Dove Facebook page

“We sincerely appreciate Congressman Davis’ efforts in seeking increased funding for victims of domestic violence, through the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women’s Act, especially at this most critical and challenging times,” said Dove Domestic Violence Director Teri Ducy.

The Dove Domestic Violence Program has answered approximately 50-55 calls during this time.

“We do expect to see a spike in calls and requests for services,” said Ducy. “We are fully aware of the risk to victims of domestic violence at this time when they are trapped in a home with their abuser, being kept isolated from others who could be supportive, and making it extremely difficult to access any type of resources that could help them.”