Federal Shutdown, Budget Cuts Threaten Local Domestic Violence Program

Westchester, NY – Federal funding of services for the highest-risk victims of domestic violence in Westchester County ended on September 30. Now local officials and nonprofit leaders involved in the program are bracing for what could come next and hope to avoid dire outcomes for women and families facing abuse. 

The Department of Justice has provided millions of dollars nationally in grants to programs dedicated to improving criminal justice outcomes. This particular grant funded work by a collective of public and nonprofit service providers in Westchester County to train law enforcement officers to conduct risk assessments at the scene of domestic incidents, connecting victims in immediate danger with services including crisis support, shelter, medical care, and long-term assistance. 

According to a press statement released in April, felony domestic violence incidents reached a five-year high in the City of Yonkers in 2024, with a 42% increase from pre-COVID-19 reports. "It’s a significant step toward creating an even safer community," said Mayor Mike Spano in the statement.  

CarlLa Horton, executive director of Hope's Door, a Hawthorne-based nonprofit that has been involved in administering the high-risk victim program since 2017, said training showed success right away. “After a series of very high-profile murders in Northern Westchester, we piloted this approach in five towns. Everybody survived. The federal government liked what they saw and gave us three years of funding to expand to all 43 police jurisdictions in the county.” 

Those three years of funding ran out just as the federal government shut down last week. Now the future of the program – which provides services for about 1,000 county residents found to be in immediate danger each year and has served as a model for other counties in New York and neighboring states – is uncertain. Last year, Hope's Door's financial report listed that $2.7 million of the $3.2 million in revenue was sourced from government funding. Renewal applications were filed early in 2025, but Hope’s Door and its partner organizations do not know what comes next. 

“It’s really no way to run a crisis intervention program where people die,” Horton said. “I don’t want to lay off my highly skilled high-risk advocate, but how long can I maintain a position with this level of uncertainty? We’re expected to do more with less every year, but this is the worst I’ve ever seen. The uncertainty itself is paralyzing.”

While the loss of DOJ grant funding could end the high-risk program, local leaders are working to find ways to fill the gaps. Robi Schlaff, director of the Westchester County Office for Women, which coordinates with municipal officials and service providers, including Hope’s Door, confirms that her office is holding meetings with stakeholders to discuss options to keep the program in place should federal money fail to appear. 

“In times of budget cutbacks and federal funding uncertainties, there are some meaningful ways the county can support domestic violence service providers like Hope’s Door,” said Shanae Williams, who represents District 16, which includes Yonkers, in the Westchester County Board of Legislators. “The county can expand long-term contracts and partnerships with trusted nonprofits like Hope’s Door to deliver shelter, advocacy, education, and intervention programs. My colleagues and I at the [Board of Legislators] can continue to advocate at the state and federal levels for continued funding of the Violence Against Women Act and the Victims of Crime Act, both of which are crucial to sustaining local services.”

Williams’s office is also taking another step to raise funds and awareness by organizing the Break the Silence 5K on October 11 at Tibbets Brook Park, part of a larger Domestic Violence Awareness Month campaign. 

“Our primary mission with the 5K run/walk is to raise awareness and foster a broader community dialogue about safety in the home and the prevention of domestic violence,” Williams said. Last year’s event hosted 100 participants and raised $4,000 for the YWCA of Yonkers; this year’s beneficiary will be Hope’s Door. Even for those who can’t donate financially or join in the 5K itself, Williams said she expects the day to be a “meaningful event ensuring that our message about the services and resources available to domestic violence survivors throughout the county reaches and resonates with the public.”

Williams, herself the sister of a domestic violence survivor, also pointed to additional legislative and agency responses to the issue in Yonkers and countywide. “Legislatively, my colleagues and I passed the Safety Measures for Survivors of Domestic Violence Act in 2024," she noted. " This law provides tangible safety upgrades like free lock changes and video doorbell installations for survivors who choose to remain in or return to their homes.”

Other programs include the Yonkers Police Department Domestic Violence Unit which was recently relaunched as part of the statewide Statewide Targeted Reductions in Intimate Partner Violence Initiative (known as STRIVE), and the Westchester Family Justice Center, a hub for survivors, offering access to legal aid, counseling, housing referrals, and other support.

Funds raised by that marathon event and other donations support the many programs Hope’s Door provides. Described by Horton as a “full-service” provider for those experiencing abuse, the organization also staffs a 24-hour hotline, helps provide legal representation for protective orders, custody, and divorce proceedings, and sends educators and youth advocates to local middle and high schools to help young people develop healthy relationship skills. 

The non-profit currently provides 19 residential shelter beds serving around 75 individuals each year, and is in discussions with the county about the possibility of significantly expanding the number of beds it can provide. Through the Next Step initiative, survivors get support to regain their independence after abuse with job training, transportation, childcare, or even essential expenses like car repairs. “It’s very personal, unique to each survivor,” Horton explained. “Sometimes it’s scrubs for a health care job, sometimes it’s tuition for a nursing degree. The goal is safety and financial independence.”

Direct private giving to these local service organizations could help offset some of the funding needs. “I have been talking about ‘give where you live’ for at least 15 years,” Schlaff said. “I think that Westchester residents don't realize the need in Westchester, and a lot of the people who have means give to national causes. I want more people to understand that there are incredible organizations like Hope’s Door and My Sister’s Place that address some of the most dire needs right here.” 

“Unfortunately, domestic violence knows no ethnic boundaries or socioeconomic boundaries. We have clients who are professionals, doctors, lawyers, CEOs, and we have clients who would be homeless, but for the help they get,” Schlaff said. “And everybody has a story.”