Racine and Me: BeLEAF Survivors in need of assistance
RACINE, WI (CBS 58) -- Karen Fetherston and Scott Kinderman of BeLEAF Survivors in Racine County joined us in studio to discuss their current crisis.
BeLEAF Survivors’, Racine County's Sexual Assault Services Provider (SASP), provides:
• 24/7 Helpline for survivors needing crisis assistance (262-637-7233)
• 24/7 Hospital response to support survivors during evidence collection exams after a sexual assault
• Therapy and support groups for survivors
• Legal, family, and personal advocacy for survivors
• Sexual violence and abuse prevention and education. All of these are provided in English and Spanish for free.
BeLEAF is facing tough times. Our largest funder is the federal Victim Of Crime Act (VOCA) grant. We received the alarming news that BeLEAF’s VOCA funding was cut by 65%. This is not unique to BeLEAF or even unique to Wisconsin. Victim services organizations across the country were warned that cuts were coming. We budgeted with that in mind, but we were not able to anticipate or prepare to withstand this devastating cut. BeLEAF began feeling the effects of this crisis on October 1, with a significant reduction in staff hours. We worry about keeping our highly trained staff. More importantly, we worry about survivors. How will the reduction in staff hours impact survivors in Racine? • Families visiting the Child Advocacy Center after a child sexual abuse allegation won’t have a dedicated, expert BeLEAF Family Advocate available for guidance. • Survivors seeking free counseling and support groups will face longer wait times. • We have less capacity to recruit and train the Volunteer Advocates who support survivors at the hospital on one of the worst days of their lives.• Services in western Racine County will become sporadic because we won’t be able to maintain a staff member at our Burlington, WI office.• We cut emergency funds for survivors that help remove barriers to their healing, and we canceled free alternative healing events for survivors and their supporters.****Scott is a survivor and can personally speak about the importance of BeLEAF to Racine.****BeLEAF needs help.
Sexual assault survivors deserve a place to heal from the trauma they have experienced as well as our mantra that they shouldn’t have to pay a dime to heal from what happened to them. We are asking the community to help, especially in the season of holiday giving. People can donate individually by:• Following the donation link on the home page of our website, beleafsurvivors.com• (can we have a QR code on screen to link to our donation page?)• Sending a check to our mailing address, 2000 Domanik Drive, Racine, WI 53404If foundations, community groups, or corporations want to be a larger part of the solution, contact the Executive Director at [email protected]