SAMPLE EMAILS FOR VIRTUAL BUDGET ADVOCACY DAY
You can use the sample email language below for your emails to your New York State Legislators.
NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE
To ensure the strongest impact on Virtual Budget Advocacy Day, we are asking advocates to email Governor Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senators and Assembly members. We have developed the following email for you to use, or use it as a basis to draft your own personalized note.
You may use the script available below or download a copy here: Sample Email To Legislators
(Please feel free to edit as you’d like)
SUBJECT: FY ’21–’22 NEW YORK STATE BUDGET - DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FUNDING
Dear Senator/Assembly Member XXXXX,
I am writing to you today as a/an {advocate, program director, executive director, etc.} at {your organization}.
As you may know, New York State consistently has the highest demand for domestic violence services, and the highest number of unmet requests for services, in the country. Yet funding for these services is either non-existent, decreasing or flat. Many domestic violence programs are barely getting by financially and making difficult decisions regarding how to continue providing high-quality, trauma-informed services with the funding available to them.
It is critical for New York to make a meaningful investment in domestic violence services. I urge you to support these budget requests:
1. Add a $10 million emergency fund to reimburse and make whole New York’s domestic violence programs, which are actually receiving less funding during the Pandemic than before.
2. Increase TANF funding for non-residential domestic violence services to $6 million. The current level is the same as it was 20 years ago when it was first proposed.
3. Support steps to modernize the way domestic violence services are funded and provided to survivors by supporting a $5 million re-appropriation in the Aid to Localities Budget to pilot an innovative, survivor-centered flexible funding model for DV services. OCFS was unable to conduct the pilot last year due to the Pandemic.
4. Restore $2,356,000 in the DCJS Aid to Localities budget for domestic violence programs and legal services for victims.
Please review the enclosed letter, which contains more information about these proposed investments.
I urge you to support increases to critical funding in the budget so no one who is asking for shelter or other domestic violence services is ever turned away.
Thank you!
Identify who your representative is and find their contact page or email. Check this page to find the related links.
Other Legislator Materials
You can attach these materials in your emails to legislators.
8,313 Domestic Violence Victims Got Help
1,921 Requests For Help Went Unmet Due to Lack of Funding and Resources
751 Domestic Violence Victims Looking for Housing Didn't Get It
2,110 Calls for Help to the Domestic Violence Hotline Were Answered
NYS has Consistently had the Highest Demand for Domestic Violence Services in the Country.
Reference:
National Network to End Domestic Violence 2020 Domestic Violence Counts National Census
