Retreat ponders alternative money sources
The Suffolk County Legislature has targeted The Retreat, the organization providing services to victims of domestic abuse, for a nearly $50,000 funding cut.
This comes at a time when there is an increased demand for the East Hampton-based nonprofit’s services, said spokeswoman Maggie Goldfarb. If the proposed cut is sustained, The Retreat would be forced to find another way to serve not only the East End, but residents throughout the county living in abusive situations.
Shelter Island Police Department Chief Jim Read said his officers respond to an average of 30 domestic abuse calls a year.
“The Retreat is a valuable resource for both the Shelter Island community and the Police Department,” Chief Read said. “Any cuts to service could impose a negative consequence on victims of domestic violence who truly need the help and the services that the Retreat readily provides.”
At the moment, all efforts are focused on lobbying county legislators who are expected to wrap up their budget negotiations by the middle of this month. The Retreat has launched an online petition and is hoping residents will write or call their county legislators.
What’s not contemplated is any cutback in the services, Ms. Goldfarb said.
The Retreat’s hotline fielded 470 calls, just during the month of September, or 150 more calls received than during any other time this year, according to Executive Director Loretta Davis.
The organization offers help in relocating victims of abuse when necessary; providing counseling to all family members; giving legal advice and financial guidance; and working with abusers to help them turn their lives around and, in some cases, returning to their families to build stable households.
Another major program is “the Leadership Project,” aimed at teens and children that encourages respectful behavior and helps them build healthy relationships. It also provides an outlet for those children who are living in abusive situations.
While many who work with The Retreat are volunteers, there are paid, professional staff members and costs associated with providing temporary housing in emergency situations as well as assisting those who must relocate permanently.
On the plus side of the ledger, a grant The Retreat received in 2011 to establish “the Suffolk County Fatherhood Initiative” has been renewed.
The $1 million grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services is for the program that works with low income and at-risk fathers, 18 and older. It’s aimed at empowering fathers to form and maintain healthy relationships with their families and to become emotionally and financially stable, Ms. Goldfarb said.
Experience has taught that there are a significant number of younger fathers and others who are military veterans who also need help, she added, and the renewed funding allows that program to reach out to those groups. “A lot who have participated [in the program] want to come back and mentor younger men,” she said.
Despite what might seems like a hefty sum, that money is specifically earmarked for the Fatherhood Initiative and can’t be transferred to fill overall funding gaps, Ms. Goldfarb said.
