Dear Supporter,

Please join us in urging Congress to include lifesaving funding and stronger policies for survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their advocates in the next COVID-19 relief package. Survivors cannot wait.

Congress is starting negotiations on their next COVID-19 package, hoping to finalize a deal before they adjourn for the August recess next week.

Your voices are making a difference! The Senate Republicans’ recently introduced COVID-19 relief package, the HEALS Act, shores up critical supplementary funding for emergency domestic violence shelters and services through Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) funding. The House HEROES Act (H.R. 6800) included a number of critical resources and policies to advance safety for survivors. However, neither bill meaningfully addresses the needs of sexual assault victims or Survivors of Color, and the Senate bill fails to include a desperately needed legislative fix to ensure the viability of the Crime Victim Fund or any provisions for non-citizen immigrant survivors.

Congress needs to hear from you, urging them to address all survivors’ needs in the pandemic.

Tell Congress - all survivors must be included in the next COVID-19 relief package.

As the global pandemic continues month after month, survivors’ lives are still in peril. Faced with danger at home, the threat of COVID-19, and, for many, job loss and looming evictions, survivors are in urgent need of support. In these dire circumstances, survivors do not have time to wait.

Despite the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Survivors of Color, caused by systemic racism, no federal relief package has increased resources for culturally specific programs serving survivors who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Additionally, survivors need increased access to sexual assault services, shelter, and housing.

Act now to ensure that Congress addresses the needs of survivors and direct service providers!

Join with the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) TODAY by contacting your Members of Congress. Email and tweet your Members of Congress urging them to pass a COVID-19 stimulus package that centers the needs of survivors.

Congress must act now. Survivors’ lives are on the line. Contact your Members of Congress today to invest in immediate solutions for survivors in crisis and the advocates who serve them.

Thank you for supporting survivors and helping keep families safe and healthy during this uncertain time.

For safety and peace,

Deborah J. Vagins
NNEDV President and CEO