Picture this: After years of abuse, a woman finally takes the hardest step and seeks help from one of New York’s indispensable domestic violence programs. In the following months, she works with a program advocate who helps her escape, connects her to financial and legal resources and safe shelter, and promises to sit beside her at her order of protection hearing.

Then the call comes. The DV program she sought support from lost its funding, and her trusted advocate’s job is gone. No one else in her county does this work anymore. She has nowhere to turn.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and domestic violence programs are calling for more than just purple ribbons. DV programs are in crisis, and they — and the tens of thousands of domestic violence survivors across New York who depend on them — need immediate support from our leaders.

Most DV programs in New York depend on vital federal victim services........

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