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Maine state leaders will be facing some very difficult budgetary decisions in the coming months, with costs growing and revenues flattening. These conversations may even lead to cuts in some programs and services.
Lawmakers will need to carefully consider spending requests and financial realities, but that should not come at the expense of Mainers in the most need. As one critical example, state support for crime victims and the services they rely on must not waiver. A persistent gap in federal funding requires persistent action at the state level, to make sure that victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other horrible crimes can access the help they may need.
Last year, lawmakers and the governor stepped up to provide the needed $6 million in funding for victim services, to stave off the shortfall related to the federal Crime Victims Fund.
Gov. Janet Mills’ recent budget proposal includes $3 million for victim services, and advocates are rightly calling for the state to help close the full $6 million gap to prevent “catastrophic cuts.” Sen. Anne Carney, a Democrat from Cape Elizabeth, led the successful effort last year and has introduced a bill to fill that federal gap each year — with the expected $6 million price tag for the next fiscal year.
The unmistakable power of, and unquestionable need for, these services was on display at a State House event on Tuesday.
As reported by News Center Maine, Kylie Cabrio explained at the Augusta press conference how legal services supporting victims helped her finally get justice after years of being abused.
“For the first time, I was safe to talk,” she said at the State House event, the TV station reported. “For the first time, I had an army behind me.”
We need to keep funding that army. With federal funding still caught in limbo, the state must continue to provide consistency. This money is not to expand services; it is to maintain those already in place, and that is a critical line to hold in the battle against these heinous crimes.
“If this Legislature fails to act, these services and the safety nets they provide could disappear,” Democratic Rep. Nina Milliken of Blue Hill also said at the Tuesday event, as reported by News Center Maine, in support of Carney’s $6 million bill. “Together we can make a powerful statement that Maine values its survivors and we will not turn our backs on them.”
As we said this past fall, Maine owes it to victims like Virgina Cookson, who was killed in Bangor, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, to sustain these services and do everything we can to prevent further tragedies. The helplines, the navigators and advocates, the shelters, the investigators, the legal services — these are just a few examples of the many ways that victims services step up to help those enduring a wide range of abuse.
These services can offer a critical lifeline for people, often women, trying to escape dangerous situations.
BDN Maine Focus Editor Erin Rhoda chronicled the harrowing experience of Marjorie Apsega of Orrington, who received a two-year protection from abuse order against her husband and credits the help of local advocates. Her husband’s attorney refutes all allegations, and the district attorney’s office declined to bring criminal charges, but she won the protection from abuse order in civil court when a judge decided in October that her husband presented “a credible threat” to her safety.
“I want people to know there are resources out there, and I want people to know that it’s incredibly healing to use those,” Apsega told Rhoda, “and to not be ashamed.”
The resources are out there and available, but only if leaders in Augusta continue to recognize the tremendous power of these services to do good. In the worst moments, these efforts to support victims represent the best of Maine. While federal funding continues to be a question, state government must continue to step up to prevent catastrophic cuts to these critical support services.
