A Letter from the Executive Desk: Funding Crisis
When I learned that ECLI-VIBES would lose $637,667 in annual funding for survivor services, my first thought was not about a budget.
It was about the phone ringing late at night—and the person on the other end who needs us to answer.
Every day, people reach ECLI-VIBES at moments when what happens next matters. They may be trying to leave an abusive home, sitting in a hospital after a sexual assault, worried about a young person vulnerable to trafficking, or simply trying to figure out how to take the first step toward safety.
For years, we have made survivors a promise: when they are ready to reach for safety, they will not have to find it alone.
Today, an unprecedented loss of funding threatens our ability to keep that promise at the level our community has come to depend on.
This isn't simply about preserving programs. It is about protecting a coordinated network of people and services that survivors, families, hospitals, law enforcement, courts, schools, and community partners rely on every day. It took years to build that response, and it cannot easily be replaced.
We now have until October 1 to make critical decisions about what comes next.
I intend to do everything I can to protect this work. But we cannot do it alone.
That is why we are launching Protecting Hope Together and inviting 100 Community Champions to stand with us. Whether you give, share our story, tell your own story about why ECLI-VIBES matters, or introduce someone new to our work, you can be part of protecting what our community has built.
I believe deeply in this community and in what becomes possible when people choose to show up for one another.
Most of all, I believe survivors should never have to wonder whether someone will be there when they finally reach out for help.
The calls will keep coming. Together, we can make sure someone is still there to answer.
With gratitude,
Jennifer Hernandez
Executive Director
What Could Be Lost
The calls will not stop. Our ability to answer them could.
ECLI-VIBES is facing a $637,667 annual reduction in victim-services funding—nearly 50% of our largest grant and approximately $1.3 million over two years.
But the need for these services will not decrease because the funding did.
Survivors will still arrive at hospitals after sexual assault. Police will still respond to domestic violence. Courts will still identify young people at risk of human trafficking. Parents will still need a safe place to take their children. And people in crisis will still pick up the phone and ask for help.
What may change is whether ECLI-VIBES has the capacity to respond when they do.
This Is What Is at Risk
A survivor could wait longer for help
When someone reaches out during a brief and potentially dangerous window, time matters. Reduced staffing could mean fewer advocates available to answer calls, create safety plans, and help a survivor take the next safe step.
For someone experiencing escalating violence or exploitation, a delay is not simply inconvenient. It can mean losing the moment when leaving feels possible.
A survivor of sexual assault may not have the same immediate forensic response
After a sexual assault, a trained Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner provides compassionate, specialized care while carefully collecting and preserving evidence.
Without sufficient funding, maintaining immediate, around-the-clock forensic response becomes more difficult. Survivors could face longer waits or fewer options for specialized care, while time-sensitive evidence that may later be critical to a case could be lost.
Law enforcement could lose a trusted partner
When the Suffolk County Police Department sends ECLI-VIBES a domestic incident report, the police response may be over—but the survivor's need for safety is not.
Our advocates assess danger, develop safety plans, and help survivors and their children navigate what comes next, including housing, financial needs, court proceedings, and ongoing threats. Because the danger does not necessarily end when the police leave.
A young person at risk of trafficking could miss a critical window
When a court, school, law-enforcement agency, or community partner recognizes that a young person may be vulnerable to human trafficking, there may be only a narrow opportunity to intervene.
Specialized advocates work to build trust, address immediate needs, and create safety before exploitation occurs or further harm is done. Reduced capacity could mean fewer young people receive that intervention at the moment it matters most.
A family may have nowhere safe to go next
Leaving violence is only the beginning.
A survivor may need a security deposit, emergency transportation, food, childcare, clean clothing, medication, or help replacing essential documents before safety is actually sustainable.
Without these practical supports, leaving can feel financially impossible. A parent may face an unbearable choice between returning to danger and being unable to provide for their children.
Survivors could face a more disconnected system
No survivor should have to repeatedly tell their story, call agency after agency, or figure out alone which service they need next.
ECLI-VIBES brings together crisis response, forensic care, counseling, advocacy, legal support, emergency assistance, and essential needs so survivors can move from one form of support to the next without navigating the system alone.
When one part of that response disappears, a gap opens—and survivors can fall through it.
More Than a Program Is at Stake
Over the years, ECLI-VIBES and our partners have built a coordinated community response to violence, abuse, and exploitation.
Law enforcement, courts, hospitals, prosecutors, schools, and community organizations know where to call. They can make a referral knowing that someone will respond, a survivor will be treated with dignity, and meaningful help will follow.
That trust and infrastructure cannot be replaced overnight.
Losing this funding would not simply reduce a budget. It could weaken a system our entire community depends on—and dismantle parts of a response that took years to build.
The Difference, in Human Terms
Without sufficient funding:
A parent may be unable to afford the practical cost of leaving violence.
A child may remain exposed to escalating danger.
A call for help may take longer to answer.
A survivor may wait for a sexual assault forensic exam at a hospital, or not receive care.
A police referral may not receive the same timely follow-up.
A young person at risk of trafficking may miss a critical opportunity for intervention.
Community partners may have fewer safe options for the people they refer.
With your help, ECLI-VIBES can continue to be there—on the phone, at the hospital, alongside law enforcement and the courts, and with families as they move from crisis toward lasting safety.
How You Can Help
Closing a funding gap this significant will take more than one solution. It will take a community.
Whether you raise funds, make a gift, share your story, or help us reach others, you can help ensure survivors continue to have somewhere to turn.
Become a Community Champion
Set a goal. Rally your community. Raise $1,000 for survivors.
We’re looking for 100 Community Champions to each raise $1,000 by inviting friends, family, colleagues, and others in their networks to join them in protecting survivor services.
You don’t have to raise $1,000 alone. Ten people giving $100, twenty people giving $50, or one hundred people giving $10 all get you there.
We’ll give you tools and resources to help you share the campaign and reach your goal.
CLICK HERE TO BECOME A COMMUNITY CHAMPION
Make a Donation
Every gift helps keep support within reach.
You don’t have to become a Champion to make a difference. Your gift of any size helps protect the people, services, and resources that allow ECLI-VIBES to respond when someone reaches out for help.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE ON OUR CAMPAIGN WEBSITE
Share Your Story
Help others understand why this work matters.
Has ECLI-VIBES touched your life or the life of someone you care about? Have you volunteered, partnered with us, made a referral, or seen the difference these services make?
Tell us why ECLI-VIBES matters to you—or what you believe our community would lose without these services. Stories may be shared anonymously.
CLICK HERE TO SHARE YOUR STORY
Spread the Word
Your voice can introduce this campaign to someone we may never reach on our own.
Share Protecting Hope Together on social media, forward our campaign to friends and colleagues, talk about it in your workplace or community, or introduce ECLI-VIBES to someone who may want to help.
Connect Us
Sometimes the most valuable thing you can give is an introduction.
Do you know a business, foundation, civic organization, community group, or individual who may want to stand with survivors? Help us make the connection.
A single introduction could lead to a new partner who helps protect these services for years to come.