A Woman's Place shelter in dire financial straits
UPDATE at 3:51 p.m.:
CHAMPAIGN — The United Way of Champaign County is providing an emergency payment of $18,000 to A Woman’s Fund to allow the organization to remain in operation.
Lyn Jones, president and CEO of United Way of Champaign County, said she got approval from her organization’s board of directors to make an allocation from United Way’s safety net fund to A Woman’s Fund.
“The safety net fund is earmarked to address crisis situations in the community, especially with our partner agencies, and A Woman’s Fund is one of our partner agencies,” Jones said.
Jones said $18,000 will be transferred to A Woman’s Fund on Friday.
“That’s the amount of money they needed to make their payroll next week,” Jones said.
ORIGINAL STORY FOLLOWS
URBANA – One of the nation's first shelters for abused women is fighting to stay open, another potential casualty of the state's ongoing budget crisis.
A Woman's Place, which opened its doors in 1971, is down to a skeleton staff of six and may have to close if it doesn't get a past-due state payment soon, officials said.
"Right now, we're probably in the worst situation that we've ever been in," said Tara Bossert, human resources manager at A Woman's Place.
The state owes the agency about $126,000 for expenses incurred since Aug. 1, according to the Illinois comptroller's office. Given the state's $3.8 billion backlog of unpaid bills, it's unclear when the payments will be made, spokeswoman Carol Knowles said Thursday.
"We try to address emergencies as they arise with a number of vendors. But with a backlog as large as it is, it is difficult to address some emergencies," Knowles said.
A Woman's Place has no cash reserve and couldn't meet payroll last week. It was forced to lay off 10 employees Wednesday, including residential staff and two court advocates who help domestic-violence victims apply for orders of protection.
The agency is trying to keep its shelter and 24-hour hotline running, Bossert said. Eight children and five women were staying at the 32-bed shelter Thursday, far less than usual, and the agency is taking only emergency cases.
"If people have any other option, we're encouraging them to go elsewhere," Bossert said.
Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation agreed to help arrange for orders of protection, though its staff is also limited, Bossert said.
Support groups, counseling and other programs are "sort of on the back burner while we just figure out how to keep the doors open," Bossert said. "Right now, we're basically providing a roof over people's heads and a warm meal."
Legislators and community leaders scrambled Thursday to try to find emergency funding for the shelter.
"If they close, we don't have a domestic-violence shelter in this county. This is really a critical circumstance," said Lyn Jones, president and CEO of the United Way of Champaign County.
Jones said she's talking with other community organizations to see what short-term steps could be taken to help the agency, and asked state and federal legislators to try to get the money released.
State Sen. Mike Frerichs, D-Champaign, said he talked to the comptroller's office about moving A Woman's Place to the front of the line.
"If A Woman's Place were to shut down, it would have dire consequences for victims of domestic violence in our area," he said.
About 50 percent of the agency's $1 million budget comes from the state Department of Human Services, Bossert said.
A Woman's Place also gets some federal funding through the Victims of Crimes Act, but that, too, is channeled through the state.
Some have suggested closing the shelter temporarily and moving clients, Bossert said. But there's one problem: the agency would be breaking its contracts with the Department of Human Services and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development if it closes for even 24 hours.
"They'd have the right to pull all of our funding," she said. "We really feel like if that happens, our doors will be closed for good."
Other organizations are also behind on their payments to the agency, she said.
Meanwhile, the executive director of A Woman's Place, Tami Tunnell, is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.
If the state were able to release the money, A Woman's Place could start paying its employees again, Bossert said. Another payroll comes due next Wednesday.
Knowles said she couldn't make any predictions, noting the state's $3.8 billion backlog does not include $2.25 billion in short-term borrowing made in May and August. The state has to start repaying those loans by March 2010 and complete the payments by June 2010, she said.
"It's just so frustrating," Bossert said. "No matter who we talk to, no one can give us any type of answer as to when we're going to get the money. Is that going to be days or weeks; who knows?"
A Woman's Place hopes to reach out to churches and other organizations for support, but the truncated staff hasn't had time to make a public appeal.
"Our main responsibility is to serve our clients who are here right now," Bossert said.
In fiscal 2009, more than 660 individuals sought help at A Woman's Place. Of those, 264 received help with orders of protection and 539 received domestic violence counseling. More than 10,000 nights of shelter were provided to adults and children.
Staff writer Tim Mitchell contributed to this report.
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