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Former hostage succumbs to wounds

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Illinois

For the first time in its 45-year history, Mujeres Latinas en Accion — a Pilsen-based nonprofit that specializes in providing support for Latina victims of domestic violence and sexual assault — has no dedicated youth program. […]

“This space was very essential for [student] healing and development,” said Gabriela Fuentes, former advocate for the program. “If it’s no longer available to them and their families, I think that really poses a concern for the community.” […]

According to Fuentes, the majority of students – approximately 80 percent – are either witnesses to or victims of domestic violence. […]

The ensuing state budget crisis, which dragged on for more than two years, exacerbated the problem, not only because more necessary state grants were eliminated but also because staffers were suddenly charged with a new consuming task, according to Tortolero.

“When the state budget crisis happened, you were seeing a lot of time spent on advocacy and education. It’s unfortunate that this happened,” she said, adding that it took time away from finding new funding sources.

Facing a deficit of $75,000, the board voted in October to shut down PJ Youth by the end of the year, according to Tortolero. Now, for the first time in 45 years, Mujeres no longer offers a comprehensive youth program, though it still offers some child therapy.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:47 pm

Comments

These kinds of programs do essential, ugly, and uplifting work in communities many people prefer to ignore. The ripple effect of the manufactured budget crisis is going to be ugly and long-lasting. This isn’t the last victim.

But the Governor will probably say “These things happen”

Comment by Served Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 12:59 pm
Where’s the Rauner Foundation when you need it?

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:01 pm
Diana Rauner, president of The Ounce, calls this a business decision.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:10 pm
These things happen.

Comment by Henry Francis Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:13 pm
“I’m not in charge….these things happen.”

Comment by Nick Name Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:27 pm
And the Governor wants to roll back the income tax hike. I’m sure that will help these places out a lot.

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:33 pm
‘In war, these things happen”. #FakeVetBruce Rauner.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 1:38 pm
I am so sad and frustrated to learn this. Mujeres did great work in the community to help young people address their trauma and heal from the violence they have witnessed. This is essential work if we are to interrupt the cycle of violence and a real a loss for our youth and their families, for the community, and for all of us. We all benefit when people are safe, healthy, and able to achieve their potential, so that they can in turn give back to the community.

Comment by Andrea Durbin Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 2:26 pm
Advocates warned that once these services are destabilized, you can’t just flip on a budget switch and restore everything. The intentional decimation of human services and higher education will take years to recover from. There was real damage done, and there will be more stories like this.

Andrea is right- we all benefit when people are safe, healthy and able to achieve their potential. If we want Illinois to be a place where every child and family has the tools they need to build better lives, this is a huge step backwards.

I hope governor is not going to be taking hostages again this budget cycle, but unfortunately, I imagine he will.

Comment by Emily Miller Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 3:02 pm
Reviewing their recent 990’s: Looks like they had to contend with severe revenue drops from 2010-2012 too. They reported a significant drop in volunteers last year too. Mix in a state budget crisis and this is what you get.

She makes a great point on “advocacy and education”. When you end up spending more time justifying your services instead of providing them, it’s difficult to live up to your mission statement.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 3:36 pm
Oops…Anonymous @ 3:36 was me.

Comment by City Zen Thursday, Jan 4, 18 @ 3:37 pm
Chris Kennedy, or his awesome (ahem) staff should check out the funding this organization has received from the city over the past many years. Or maybe not as it would tend to poke holes in his theories.

Comment by low level Friday, Jan 5, 18 @ 9:05 am