Nonprofit leaders supporting sexual assault survivors despite service cuts

RACINE — After losing two-thirds of its funding, a Racine nonprofit that supports victims of sexual assault and provides educational services says the community is now struggling with a lack of key resources.

BeLEAF’s funding from the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) dropped by 65%, forcing the organization to cut its staff by half. Now they only have one therapist left and a long waiting list.

Board member and volunteer advocate Scott Kinderman called the loss devastating.

“There has been suspicion for several years that there may be a problem,” Kinderman said. “We did everything we could to plan for it. We just didn’t expect to lose $200,000.”

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Co-director Samantha Sustachek is one of four employees who, along with several volunteers, work to keep the nonprofit BeLEAF running. She took on additional responsibilities while seeking funding to cover the critical shortfall.

“This is happening to victim services providers across the state,” Sustachek said. “We know our services are needed, so we just keep going, doing what we can with the resources we have.”

Since learning in September that their VOCA funding would be significantly reduced, BeLEAF leaders have been fundraising and applying for grants. They have also relied heavily on reserve funds, but are $40,000 short.

“These are resources that we could offer to survivors who may have needed to stay in a hotel for a few nights to escape a difficult situation,” said board member Scott Kinderman. “There are no funds for this anymore.”

The organization recently received good news: BeLEAF received approximately $20,000 from the Potawatomi Casino Hotel’s Heart of Canal Street program.

The funding enables BeLEAF to continue its Stop Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) program, which serves approximately 8,000 children in Racine County.

Through SCAN, staff visit schools to teach children what bullying is, how to recognize it and how to get help.

“Children need this education. They need to be able to recognize violence because it can often happen to them and they don’t even realize it’s happening,” Sustachek said. “Every year we hear from children after they have benefited from our lessons.”

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