Domestic violence survivor speaks out amid budget cuts to Georgia shelters

CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — Domestic violence and sexual assault shelters in Georgia face major budget cuts, and the Camden House in St. Marys is one of those shelters rallying for urgent support.

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Camden House is a temporary emergency shelter in St Marys, but outreach is another major part of who they are.

Jasmine is a former resident of Camden House and a domestic violence survivor.

“If they had to turn me away, I would have had to go back,” Jasmine said.

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As Jasmine puts it, Camden House saved her. She is a mother to four girls and spent six to seven weeks at the shelter.

She’s also a college graduate and now in a home of her own, thanks to the dedicated people who helped her when she was most vulnerable.

“I’m a survivor of domestic violence, and I am no longer a victim, but I was,” Jasmine said.

Executive Director Marcie Costello said the cuts are coming from their federal funding stream, where 80% of funding for shelters like theirs originates.

“What we’re looking at right now is assistance to us,” Costello said. “The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council has applied to the governor of Georgia to receive American Rescue Plan funds to help us to kind of fill that gap by addressing the lost revenue and expenses that we’ve had to face.”

They’re bracing for a 37% budget cut.

“This is potentially devastating for a lot of shelters because it is such a massive portion of our funding,” Costello said. “It could affect anywhere from staffing to the level of services we’re able to provide. I’ve even heard some shelters talk about the fact they may have to close to weather these cuts.”

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Jasmine described how she felt when learning about the cuts.

“I got chills,” Jasmine said. “When I was in my dark space, I would not have received the services that I received. It is very important. It is beyond the finances. It is about the people that work there as well. I just can’t express it enough. It’s very important, and it is devastating to hear that.”

Costello said the Victims of Crime Act fund is a federal fund that has been depreciating and reducing over the last few years.

“Those funds come to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council of Georgia, and they then allocate those funds to the Georgia shelters and sexual assault centers and the other places, utilizing those funds. So, they’ve been trying to help us as much as they can, but when that money’s not coming from the federal level, there’s only so much that they can do.”

Camden House hopes people will contact Gov. Brian Kemp to ask for his support for Georgia’s domestic violence and sexual assault centers.

“It almost sounds like we’re not important, and we are,” Jasmine said.

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Jasmine is most grateful for Camden House providing her kids with stability.

“That was very important for me,” Jasmine said. “I have 4four girls. My oldest daughter was the one who saw a lot of domestic violence. With the children’s services they provided with a child advocate, she helped me as a parent understand how to get through to my child because she had shut down. She wasn’t talking. But she was able to write. That’s what the advocate was able to get through to her.”

Right now, 14 children and seven adults are in Camden House, and the shelter took 1300 calls between January and October last year on its crisis hotline.

“I didn’t see myself as this woman I am today,” Jasmine said. “This is an amazing feeling.”

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