Memphis’s Department of Domestic Violence has suddenly closed its doors amid an emergency fight for the state’s fundraising by a Tennessee victim-led organization.

Family Safety Centers in Memphis and Shelby County were closed last week without warning or public explanations.

The agency served as a “one-stop shop” for victims of domestic violence, helping victims work with the police and the district attorney’s office to obtain protection orders and connect families with housing, food and other resources.

The sudden closure left a net of agencies that worked together to deal with domestic violence scramblings, according to Marquletta Odom, executive director of YWCA Greater Memphis.

“We were all caught off guard by being closed in the middle of such a week,” said Odom, whose agency runs the state’s largest 78-bed domestic violence shelter.

Odom said the closure would “certainly have a major impact and loss on our community.” It was at its core that survivors and victims knew where to go. ”

But Odom’s agency is also facing an uncertain future of funding, just like the agency through Tennessee victims this year. Federal funds for crime victims in Tennessee have fallen in recent years from $68 million in 2018 to $16 million last year.

YWCA Greater Memphis faces prospects for budget cuts this year if it experiences a 17% cut last year and is unable to find a way to replace the lost federal dollar.

It runs a crisis hotline, provides counseling to victims of child abuse, conducts sexual assault testing, and shelter management agencies face additional cuts in federal funds, up to 40% in July.

The continued cuts in the federal dollar had already been hit hard by family safety centres before the door was closed.

The agency received $742,000 in 2020 funding for federal crime victims, according to the Tennessee Criminal Justice Program (OCJP), which distributes federal funds to nonprofits in Tennessee. This year, that funding has dropped to around $132,000.

OCJP notified on March 6 that the Family Safety Centre had been closed the day before. Ethel Hilliard, executive director of the Center, said “the closure was due to a board decision related to financial issues,” an OCJP spokesman said.

The most recent available tax records show that agents operating in the deficit in 2021 and 2022 reported a deficit of $289,000. Like other agencies funded through the Federal Victims Act of Crime, they once again faced sharp cuts in July.

Agency serving through Tennessee victims warns that if Gov. Bill Lee fails to act, the cut will be “devastating”

And while 35 other states have taken action to fund their own states in the face of budget cuts for federal crime victims, Tennessee is not one of them.

Stephen Warner, executive director of the Tennessee Children’s Advocacy Center, said the Memphis Agency’s closure indicates the vulnerability of agencies supporting victims of abuse.

“We don’t know the details of why they closed, but it speaks to the vulnerability of the communities that serve the victims, especially those who are not truly investing in diversifying their funds,” Woerner said.

Woerner’s Organization operates 46 centers across the state and employs specialized counselors who work with children who have been abused, ignored or sexually assaulted. The organization received $5.5 million a year from the Federal Crime Victims Fund at its peak. He said he received $2.1 million this year.

Woerner is one of hundreds of statewide advocates, and has made Governor Billley include $25 million in state budgets to repeatedly include state funds in crime victim agencies.

So far, Lee has not committed. Lee’s office did not answer questions about funding on Friday.

Leaders of the Memphis Family Safety Center have not issued a public statement about the reasons behind the closure.