Here’s how we know the need for emergency shelter for survivors of domestic violence is rising in Stark County and the surrounding counties.

In fiscal year 2021, we were unable to shelter 576 survivors because Domestic Violence Project Inc.’s (DVPI) two emergency shelters were full. In fiscal year 2022, the number we were unable to shelter rose to 759 — an increase of nearly 32%.

In the first six months of the current fiscal year, we’ve already been unable to shelter 445 people seeking refuge at our two emergency facilities, in Canton and Massillon.

I can’t stress enough how important it is that Ohio legislators support a recommendation from Gov. Mike DeWine and Attorney General Dave Yost to add $20 million in funding for domestic violence services in the Ohio budget for 2024-2025. The need for services is so great, but federal funding for domestic violence services has dropped 60% across Ohio since 2019.

This funding can save lives. In the fiscal year ending in June 2022, Ohio reported 81 victims killed in domestic violence cases, along with 31 perpetrators. The victims ranged in age from a 90-year-old woman to 22 children — the greatest number of children killed in domestic violence incidents ever in a year in Ohio. Six of those fatalities were just babies, including a day-old infant.

With the COVID-19 pandemic waning, more survivors are reaching out for help, and our emergency shelters don’t have enough space. In some cases, abuse escalated as couples sheltered from the pandemic at home. Survivors are finally able to seek out support and services — perhaps their abusers are back at work, or the survivors finally have more freedom of movement and communication.

With the impact of federal budget cuts hitting hard, our programs in Stark County urgently need more funding — to staff our emergency shelters round-the-clock, to hire more staff to match increased program capacity, to upgrade our security systems, for prevention programs in schools to talk to young people about healthy relationships and appropriate boundaries. Funding will also support our advocacy for survivors navigating the complicated legal and medical systems — seeking justice in the courts, safety for their children, and the medical care they need.

DVPI offers a limited number of transitional housing units for survivors leaving emergency shelter through a grant from the Office of Violence Against Women, but the lack of available affordable housing in the Stark County area is a real concern, and the prospect of becoming homeless is a danger for many survivors.

The additional $20 million in domestic violence funding the governor and attorney general are recommending be included in the state budget could make a huge difference over the next few years — and would be a first step toward bringing Ohio into parity with surrounding states.

Ohio spends 32 cents per capita on domestic violence services, compared with 92 cents for Indiana, $1.41 for West Virginia, $1.56 for Pennsylvania and $2.54 for Kentucky.

The additional proposed funding would bring Ohio’s per capita rate up to 85 cents per capita — a vital first step in helping some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.

Please tell Ohio’s legislators: This $20 million funding increase statewide is the right and compassionate thing to do for survivors and their children. It’s worth it to save lives.

Julie Donant is the chief executive officer of the Domestic Violence Project, Inc., which serves Stark County and the surrounding communities.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio needs to spend more money on domestic violence services