This summer, around 150 organizations in Oregon that support crime victims lost most of their federal funding. This funding provides essential community resources, including 24-hour hotlines, housing and advocacy.
I know firsthand how vital these resources are because I myself am a victim of sexual assault. This isn’t something I’ve said out loud many times, but it’s something that impacts me daily. Without access to hotline resources, I may have never reached out for the help I needed.
This decrease in funding directly relates to issues of immigration, as the Trump administration initially withheld crime victim assistance from sanctuary states. In these states, local or state police are legally prohibited from aiding federal authorities with immigration enforcement, which Oregon has done since 1987…