Among the East End nonprofits that would be in a dire financial position if federal funding were abruptly cut off is the Retreat. The Retreat has a shelter for victims of domestic violence here but it does so much more. It provides counseling and legal help for those dealing with sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. Federal money covers about 40 percent of the organization’s approximately $5 million annual budget; if the president’s executive order withstands court challenges, the plan could bring major cuts to the shelter, immediately leaving survivors without options, the group said this week.
It is worth taking a closer look at what the Retreat does to understand the depth of the harm the funding freeze would bring. The shelter itself provides up to 90 days of safe housing, food, clothing, child care, and case management assistance for adults and children who have been subjected to domestic violence and may be in imminent danger. The site has 24-hour staffing, security cameras, and a formidable gate. In addition to the shelter, the Retreat spends more than $1 million annually on counseling. It even provides “career styling” for clients starting new lives. Doing everything that can be done to aid victims is the organization’s mission and keeping it funded could literally mean life or death for victims of abuse.
For the moment, a United States district judge has paused the president’s executive order. Legal experts say the funding order would violate the Constitution, which grants Congress control of spending. Presidents are expected to make sure that the money is spent in the way the House of Representatives and the Senate have directed. The abuse of federal spending by withholding expenditures was the target of a 1974 act of Congress, the Impoundment Control Act, after President Richard Nixon tried to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing clean water regulations, among others. After the act became law, presidents were directed to ask Congress for permission to alter its spending plans, following a specific procedure; President Trump paid no attention to the Impoundment Act, if he even knew what it was supposed to do. Now it may take a ruling from the Supreme Court to sort out this mess.
For the Retreat, the prospect of a giant funding cut is almost existential. Any reductions of its programs could put survivors at increased risk of harm or even death. If the Trump funding rollback is sustained by the courts, the Retreat, like so many other nonprofits, would have to confront almost impossible decisions. In the worst case scenario the community must be ready to step in, in ways large and small. Consider shopping at either of the Retreat’s excellent thrift shops, starting a GoFundMe-type campaign, or digging deep into deep pockets to keep its essential programs going.