SPARTANBURG. S.C. (WSPA) – The Attorney General’s office met today at the Spartanburg County Courthouse to award $26 million dollars in grants to help victims of crime here in the Upstate.
Roughly $16 million dollars of the funding is from federal programs like the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
The other $10 million is from two state funding sources, the State Victim Assistance Program (SVAP) and the Supplemental Allocation for Victims Services (SAVS).
“This money has been critical, not just in this past year, but for many years,” said 8th Circuit Solicitor. David Stumbo. “We couldn’t support our victims’ services not just in my office, but in law-enforcement agencies our sheriff’s departments or police departments.”
Attorney General Alan Wilson explained that VOCA funding has been severely cut over the past couple of years. CEO of Safe Harbor, Danny Varat, said the cut is concerning for people like him.
“The federal funding that comes from the victims of crime act is incredibly important because it represents a tremendous amount of any given agencies budget,” explained Varat. “It can be anywhere from one third to forty percent, or even more of the agency’s budget and it funds the actual folks who do the work in the shelters.”
Attorney General Wilson said he has asked the state to help because these are vital services.
“People have their worst days, or worst number of days and the criminal justice system has the potential to victimize them, because it is a scary place for someone to go to and that is why it is so important to find organizations that provide services to victims and to do what we do,” Wilson said.
Wilson explained the funding of these programs helps victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and human trafficking among other crimes.
“We help create a bridge from victimhood to survivorship, we give power to the powerless, we empower then we give a voice to the voiceless,” Wilson said.
He further explained as the Upstate population continues to grow, so does the number of people that are need of the services they provide.
Varat confirmed he has seen the increase in number of abuse victims Safe Harbor has served, and said the decrease in funding is a problem. He said the funding makes a tremendous difference.
“It literally allows agencies like Safe Harbor to keep the lights on, to keep staff in the building, to serve the clients to provide the basic needs of our clients,” Varat said. “That amount of money does make a critical difference in our community we serve.”
