{"id":235197,"date":"2025-09-18T01:29:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T01:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/235197\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T01:29:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T01:29:09","slug":"san-antonio-nonprofits-helping-women-say-lack-of-city-funding-an-unwelcome-surprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/235197\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio nonprofits helping women say lack of city funding an unwelcome surprise"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO<\/strong> \u2013 A pair of San Antonio nonprofits that help survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence say they\u2019ve been scrambling to fill unexpected budget deficits after part, or all, of their previous funding was left out of the city\u2019s proposed budget.<\/p>\n

However, the city council appears poised to add some of the money back into the budget, despite some members\u2019 concerns about \u201copening up a can of worms.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Her and the Alamo Area Rape Crisis Center had both received pandemic relief dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) through the City of San Antonio for the past two years. Those dollars were absent from the FY 2026 budget when staff presented a draft version in August.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t entirely unexpected; the city had always meant to use ARPA money as a temporary funding source. <\/p>\n

However, the groups said they had been led to believe they would continue to get at least part of the funding this year. <\/p>\n

In March, For Her and the Rape Crisis Center received emails from the city saying the Department of Human Services had proposed a plan to extend existing delegate agency contracts for up to another eight months, through May 2026. <\/p>\n

For Her founder and CEO Kayla Carter said she had even followed up with city staff for clarification. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they did confirm that we were not going to have to reapply for that same money. It would just be prorated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For Her received about $138,000 in both FY 2024 and FY 2025, which Carter estimated to be about 17% of its nonprofit\u2019s budget \u2014 every single dollar of it from ARPA.<\/p>\n

The funds have helped about 1,200 people over the course of two years, she said, helping pay for services like therapy and group support for domestic violence survivors or those at risk. It also helped pay for \u201ctrauma-informed yoga,\u201d economic empowerment workshops, and helping women become self-sustainable.<\/p>\n

Heading into the budget, Carter expected her group would receive a prorated funding amount of about $92,000. Instead, the city\u2019s draft budget had it receiving nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo then be surprised with a phone call in August saying, \u2018actually, you\u2019re not in the budget at all.\u2019 It was quite shocking and disappointing,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Carter said the group would likely have to reduce programs and serve fewer people to cover a deficit of that size.<\/p>\n

The Rape Crisis Center, which has already seen about 680 clients in the past 10 months, responds to hospitals around the city to meet victims and provide support and follow-up services. <\/p>\n

Of the $170,000 it has received in each of the past two years, a little more than half was from ARPA funds. <\/p>\n

So, although CEO Audra Atzger was expecting roughly $113,000, based on eight months of funding, only about $56,000 was included in the budget \u2014 eight months\u2019 worth of its regular city funding. <\/p>\n

Already dealing with less state funding this year, Atzger said they have had to let go of three part-time staff members and shift more healthcare costs over to employees.<\/p>\n

As a result of her staff being stretched thinner, Atzger said their ability to provide follow-up services like assistance with crime victim compensation applications and helping with resources might decrease.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have a cut halfway and an extension and prorated at that, it also leaves us in a deficit,\u201d Atzger said. \u201cConsidering that we have to do our budgets in advance, it does leave us in a precarious situation when we are not able to do what we need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

A third nonprofit, Family Violence Prevention Services, received $277,000 worth of ARPA funding in the previous two years. <\/p>\n

KSAT reached out to Family Violence Prevention Services on Wednesday for clarification on what the city had told it in the run-up to the budget, but a spokeswoman said the group\u2019s CEO would reserve comment until after Thursday\u2019s budget vote.<\/p>\n

However, Human Services Director Melody Woosley seemed to lump FVPS in with For Her and the Rape Crisis Center in her comments at a Tuesday council budget discussion about \u201cthree agencies that received ARPA funding\u201d over the previous two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sent an email out to delegate agencies that recommended \u2014 told them that we were recommending the eight months of funding so we could reset the contract process. And the agencies that were funded with ARPA received that. They should not have. That was a mistake on our part,” Woosley told council members.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve notified the agencies, and they disagree with that decision not to fund them. And so that\u2019s how we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of the budget amendments council members considered on Tuesday and Wednesday, there were proposals to give For Her $92,000 and the Rape Crisis Center $57,000, which would bring them up to the eight-month prorated equivalent of where their contracts were with ARPA funding.<\/p>\n

A proposal for FVPS did not appear to take the former ARPA funding into account, but included a recommendation to combine its other city contracts and provide a full 12 months of funding rather than the prorated, eight months\u2019 worth.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo those are the three ones that I think are really important to make sure they become whole, because they were given that information,\u201d Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1) said.<\/p>\n

To make those adjustments, though, city staff say they would have to dip into the four months of reserve funding the city had set aside for the delegate agencies already recommended within the budget.<\/p>\n

Since the FVPS funding is already part of that, city staff say giving it a full 12 months of funding instead of just the eight months for now wouldn\u2019t make a difference<\/p>\n

However, giving For Her and the Rape Crisis Center extra funding now would mean there\u2019s less to go around once the city starts its competitive funding process for delegate agencies in the fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we take from this bucket…to fund these agencies, we\u2019re going to be hearing about it from other nonprofits, too, who are also going to have noble and worthy causes as well,\u201d Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7) said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s opening up a can of worms,\u201d she said later.<\/p>\n

At the end of the second day of budget amendment discussions on Wednesday, City Manager Erik Walsh said he planned to include the renewed funding for the Rape Crisis Center and For Her on the final list of amendments.<\/p>\n

Those tweaks would be included when the council votes on the $4 billion budget during its 9 a.m. Thursday meeting.<\/p>\n

The meeting will be livestreamed on KSAT.com<\/a> and KSAT Plus.<\/p>\n

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