Starting September 1st, the Sexual Assault Resource Center will lose 35 percent of their annual budget.
Executive Director Lindsey LeBlanc says government cutbacks resulted in the loss of two grants and the reduction of their largest grant.
“Those grants cover our operating expenses. We are a really lean organization, our programs are run specifically with people,” says LeBlanc.
LeBlanc says their biggest operating expense is the salaries of five counselors who assist sexual assault survivors through individual and group counseling sessions. Since the start of the pandemic, demand for crisis and counseling services has increased more than ten percent.
“We had a wait list of over 40 people when I started in June. Just this week, we were able to celebrate that we don’t have any more people on the wait list,” says LeBlanc.
LeBlanc says with the funding cuts, they are at a standstill of keeping that wait list down or nonexistent.
To offset the funding loss of more than $260,000, SARC launched the “Be a Light” campaign.
Click HERE to find more information and donate.
The community can also help by attending the annual “Evening Under the Stars” gala on Friday, October 8th.
Listen to “SARC Loses $260,000 in Funding” on Spreaker.
News release from SARC:
“The organization fighting sexual violence in the Brazos Valley will be forced to cut services for sexual assault survivors unless private donors offset significant cuts in federal and state funding.
Lindsey LeBlanc, Executive Director of the Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC), said the private, non-profit agency has been notified in recent days of cuts totaling over $260,000 for the year beginning September 1.
The amount creates a funding hole of more than 35 percent of SARC’s annual budget. The agency’s biggest operating expense is the salaries of five counselors who assist hundreds of sexual assault survivors with thousands of counseling sessions annually. Demand for crisis and counseling services has increased more than 10 percent since the pandemic struck in March 2020.
“We’ve seen a steep rise in services needed and are serving more counseling clients than ever in the history of our organization,” said LeBlanc. “We expect the needs of survivors will continue to rise this fall as students return to the area and the world resumes more in-person activities. At SARC, we will steam ahead to serve as many clients as we can. But we need the community’s help more than ever.”