Abuse victim help group with Lynn roots faces funding cut

LYNN-State funding cuts threaten to close down an area organization with a 13-year history of aiding domestic violence victims.Portal to Hope organizers said the $150,000 in state money they rely on to provide services is in jeopardy to the point where the organization will close June 30 if the money is cut.Portal To Hope has relied on the funding so that comprehensive services, including emergency shelter, legal aid, counseling, youth programs, violence prevention education and other advocacy, are offered to victims and their families.Portal serves Everett, Lynn, Malden, Medford, Winthrop and neighboring Massachusetts communities, providing direct care to an average of 900 people each year. Lynn District Court has seen an increase in violence related abuse.”We’re already serving 337 Massachusetts residents impacted by domestic violence since January 1st,” said Portal President Frances Sordillo.Sordillo said Portal’s work extends beyond helping abuse victims to providing training at police academies and in high schools, advocacy in the courts and accepting referrals from Safelink and other agencies for emergency shelter.”The worst part about this situation is that the funds are still there in the budget – they’re just not going to come back to Portal To Hope. The line item that has funded Portal To Hope for nearly 12 years wasn’t decreased,” Sordillo said.Portal volunteer Emmanuel Felix, who has provided translation and shelter transportation services for Portal To Hope for 12 years, said Massachusetts cannot afford to close the door on victims and their families.”All of us understand the dire fiscal crises our state is facing, but where this particular line item wasn’t cut, we don’t understand why the $150,000, which is still in the budget, is not being returned to Portal To Hope. Where are these funds going to this year? Worse, where will the families we are now serving turn to once our doors are closed at the end of June?”Local legislators including Lynn representatives like Mark Falzone and others are working to preserve Portal’s funding.