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Moby, Yee Call on Governor to Sign Domestic Violence Bill
Monday October 19th, 2009
Moby, Yee Call on Governor to Sign Domestic Violence Bill
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Yee: Governor will have a second chance to do the right thing
SACRAMENTO – Award-winning recording artist Moby joined Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) today to urge Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Los Angeles) to immediately sign legislation to save California’s domestic violence shelters.
Yesterday, the California State Senate unanimously approved legislation that would restore $16.3 million in funding, which was previously eliminated by the Governor’s line-item veto in the State Budget. The bill, backed by Yee, would allow 94 domestic violence shelters and centers throughout the state stay open,
“Governor Schwarzenegger has put women and children at risk; he will now have a second chance to do the right thing,” said Yee. “Each passing day only results in the closing of more domestic violence shelters and victims facing homelessness or returning to their abuser.”
“In order to keep the remaining domestic violence shelters open, it is absolutely vital that the Governor immediately sign this bill into law,” said Yee. “Failure to do so will only result in increased health care, law enforcement and other costs to the state. But more critically, it puts victims of domestic violence and their children in grave danger.”
“Domestic violence is equal parts prison and torture for many women,” said Moby. “My sincere hope is that we can step up and help to protect women in California and end domestic violence.”
Tonight, Moby will perform at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre, where he will donate all the proceeds of his concert to the state’s domestic violence shelters. Moby, along with the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, recently established a permanent fund to benefit California shelters.
Yee’s legislation – supported by statewide and local domestic violence prevention agencies – allocates $16.3 million from the State’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund to the Domestic Violence Program. The fund will be repaid from the General Fund within three years.
The Domestic Violence Program funds allow local agencies to provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, and legal advocacy, as well as assistance with restraining orders, counseling and other vital support services. Domestic violence shelters are often the only thing standing between victims and grave physical danger, and California’s communities cannot sustain their loss. For a list of shelters and programs at risk of closure, visit: http://www.safenetwork.net/GrantAdmin/GranteesList.aspx.
“We are gratified that the Senate recognized the urgency of the shelter crisis, and heard our bill immediately upon their return,” said Tara Shabazz, Executive Director of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (CPEDV). “The wide bi-partisan support shows that the will of the people is behind this measure. We now call on the Governor to sign this life-saving bill as soon as it reaches his desk.”
Nearly 2,600 supporters of the legislation have joined a Facebook page – SAVE Domestic Violence Shelters – to encourage passage of the bill.
“This is a bipartisan issue that Californians care about,” said Beverly Upton, Executive Director of the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium and Partners Ending Domestic Abuse. “We must bring these dollars back to the domestic violence shelters and those who work in the trenches everyday to keep California safe.”
According to a national census of domestic violence services, in just one day, over 7,700 requests for services went unmet due to a lack of resources. When the resources do not exist for victims to receive domestic violence services, they are often left with no choice but to risk their own lives by returning to their abusers.
If you are a victim of domestic violence or if you want to report an incident of domestic violence, call the 24-hour-a-day toll-free National Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), 1-800-787-3224 (TDD) or the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence at 1-800-524-4765.
Contact: Adam J. Keigwin,
(916) 651-4008
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