When the River Valley Shelter in Russellville learned the amount of federal funding it would receive for the following year, staff had only days to prepare before their grant expired.
The shelter, which has served women and children escaping domestic violence for more than 35 years, was forced to cut its staff from nine to two people, leaving only the director and manager. The beds available at the facility dropped from 16 to two, and staff are no longer available overnight or on weekends.
“It was entirely preventable,” said Tory Paul, a former in-shelter survivor advocate at River Valley who lost her position due to the cuts. “[The state] had the power to do something about it, and it’s inhumane to not do anything.”…