Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) voted for H.R. 2119, the Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act (FVPSA).  FVPSA supports much-needed services for domestic violence survivors, including emergency shelter, crisis counseling, safety planning, assistance recovering from financial abuse, and help with addressing housing insecurity.

“The Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act provides essential support for survivors of domestic violence, and its reauthorization is critical for our community and for communities across the country,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an increase in intimate partner violence, and I am glad to see legislation supporting life-saving services, including crisis counseling and safety planning, pass the House today to make our communities safer.”

“Passage to reauthorize and expand the Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act (FVPSA) is needed now, more than ever,” said Houston Area Women’s Center CEO Emilee Dawn Whitehurst.  “Domestic violence has reached its breaking point, with a terrible rise in Houston and across our nation.  At the Houston Area Women’s Center, FVPSA provides critical funding to ensure survivors’ access to life-saving services to transform trauma, achieve independence, and stop abuse before it happens.  Our advocates simply could not do this work without FVPSA.”

FVPSA modifies, expands, and reauthorizes programs for survivors of domestic violence.  This legislation supports life-saving services throughout the country via grants to states and community-based organizations, as well as to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.  In 2019, the National Domestic Violence Hotline documented 19,168 contacts from Texas, ranking the state second in terms of contact volume to the Hotline.

FVPSA makes the following critical improvements:

• Increases funding authorization level to $270 million to respond to low per-program funding levels and provide access to programs not currently funded.
• Invests in prevention by bringing evidence-informed, community-based prevention initiatives to more communities across the country.
• Expands support and access to culturally specific programs.
• Strengthens and updates the National Domestic Violence Hotline and hotline services for underserved populations.
• Creates a new under-served population grant program.