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Domestic violence shelter warns of service cuts without DC mayoral budget increase

DC SAFE says its domestic violence survivor client base increased 57% since the start of the pandemic without a major increase in funding.

WASHINGTON — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s 2023 budget is set to be released Wednesday. But one D.C. nonprofit aiding domestic violence survivors says they're hoping for a sizable budget increase to meet increased demand. 

DC SAFE said more domestic violence survivors sought help during the pandemic than ever before, citing a 57% increase in the number of families seeking shelter since March 2020. 

"We’ve had 500 survivors in the past two years," said DC SAFE crisis shelter director Michelle Sewell. "We’ve fed, we’ve clothed, we’ve transport, we have stood in streets and let people have complete meltdowns and the police won’t arrest them in front of this building. We’ve been assaulted here. We’ve done everything to keep everybody safe. It’s been really challenging the last two years." 

Credit: Becca Knier
Michelle Sewell, crisis shelter director of DC SAFE

RELATED: 'Failed by the system' | The life and death of DC stalking victim, Sylvia Matthews

WUSA9 recently highlighted DC SAFE during an investigation into the death of D.C. resident Sylvia Matthews, who DC Police believe was killed by her stalker of more than 20 years. Her family said Matthews kept her painful history of domestic violence a secret, until she was murdered in her home. 

"Don’t be afraid to ask for help, don’t be ashamed," Matthews' niece Sheila Matthews pleads. "Tell somebody. Please tell somebody, because it doesn’t have to end like this."  

Sewell said she recently got an email that one of her survivors was killed.

"We’re not sure how the story is going to play out, but people are killed during domestic violence," Sewell said. 

Construction is ongoing for a new shelter expected to open in D.C. this fall. Since funding to keep these existing rooms open has not increased at the same rate as the pandemic-fueled demand, DC SAFE says service cuts may have to happen without $2.5 million from Bowser’s next budget.

Credit: DC SAFE
DC SAFE's new shelter under construction


"People were running towards D.C. from other places," Sewell said. "Running towards you with black eyes and broken bones and mental health and housing and babies, leaving states ... running towards us."

DC SAFE takes domestic violence survivors whether a restraining order exists or not. Their emergency line in English can be reached at 1-800-407-5048. In Spanish, the hotline is 1-866-962-5048.

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