This group helps abuse survivors. Serious funding shortfall could force cuts
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- Faces of Hope needs $450,000 within months to keep Boise and Meridian centers open.
- Donations dropped this year while the organization saw a 52% rise in people it served.
- Organization normally brings in nearly half of its budget during the end of year months.
An organization that supports survivors of domestic violence in the Treasure Valley is facing a significant funding shortfall and may need to make cuts if it doesn’t receive enough donations to fill that gap.
Faces of Hope, which also serves victims of sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse and human trafficking, provides people with case management, legal support and safety planning, and helps with other immediate needs for people fleeing violence, such as hotels and taxis. The organization has one location in Boise and one in Meridian.
Typically, the center, which provides its services at no cost, receives nearly half its budget from donations that come in at the end of the year, said Paige Dinger, executive director of Faces of Hope. But this year, she’s worried.
“It’s been an all-time low. October, November, December have been really low giving months for us,” Dinger told the Idaho Statesman. “Historically, we’ve never seen this before.”
To make sure the organization can keep the doors open and provide the same level of services at both locations, Dinger said Faces of Hope must raise $450,000 in the next few months. Otherwise, it may have to consider closing its Meridian location, potentially leaving a void in the area.
“That’s the absolute worst thing,” Dinger said. “I worry where people will go when they are in trauma and in crisis?”
Dinger said the community is being asked to give by more nonprofits as the Treasure Valley grows. At the same time, people are being cautious about their spending as prices rise. Last year, from August through November, the organization received about $634,000 in donations. In the same time frame this year, it received less than half of that, she said.
Organization sees uptick in people seeking help
Faces of Hope operates on about a $1.8 million budget. Less than one-fifth of that comes from federal funding, but the amount it has received from the federal government has dropped in recent years. Most of its funding comes from the community, Dinger said.
The organization is also seeing more people come in for help. Faces of Hope saw a 52% rise in the number of people it served in September this year compared to the same time last year. On a typical day, its centers serve 18 to 20 people, and about four of those are people who have never visited before, Dinger said.
Dinger attributed that, in part, to word spreading about the services Faces of Hope offers. She also said because the region is growing, more people are seeking help.
Margo Anderson, Faces of Hope’s attorney, said the Treasure Valley has far more need for free and low-cost legal resources than it has to offer. Anderson provides that support to people at Faces, helping to explain the judicial system and what a case could look like if someone has reported abuse. In certain cases, she offers representation for people pursuing civil protection orders if there is an attorney on the other side.
“Having access to our court system is a fundamental right,” she told the Statesman. “Having the information — the correct information — is going to make people who’ve already been victimized feel more confident in their choices and decisions.”
A lot of people stay in a relationship because they’re scared, she said. They don’t know what the future looks like. “Helping demystify that can be a crucial step in them really taking a step that’s really brave,” she said.
Faces of Hope has already made cuts. It cut about 40% of its staff compared to last year while continuing to focus on providing the same services to its clients, Dinger said.
Faces of Hope previously operated out of a building owned by Ada County, but it was forced to leave the location about two years ago after the Ada County Commission ended the longstanding partnership, the Statesman previously reported. The organization received free rent in that building as one of the groups providing services at no cost. Dinger said the move did not create the funding shortfall or contribute to the need to cut staff.
The organization’s second location in Meridian has expanded its reach, making it easier for people in Meridian and other areas of Ada and Canyon counties to get support. People seeking help may have limited transportation or short windows of time to visit a center, so having the second location makes the services accessible for more people, Dinger and Anderson said.
“I see every day how much our services are affecting people and making them feel comfortable, making them feel loved and welcomed,” Anderson said. “Having that be limited, especially because of finances, is just heartbreaking to me.”
