{"id":26719,"date":"2025-11-06T14:33:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T14:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/26719\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T14:33:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T14:33:10","slug":"government-cuts-local-impact-budget-impasse-results-in-reduced-client-services-staffing-cuts-at-safe-berks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/26719\/","title":{"rendered":"Government Cuts, Local Impact:\u00a0Budget Impasse Results in Reduced Client Services, Staffing Cuts at Safe Berks"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Susan Shelly McGovern for Berks County Community Foundation<\/p>\n

Pictured above: Safe Berks is preparing to celebrate 50 years of service in Berks County.<\/p>\n

To say that Beth Garrigan, chief executive officer of\u00a0Safe Berks<\/a>, is frustrated is an understatement.<\/p>\n

A loss of funding to Safe Berks since June 30 \u2013\u00a0caused by state legislators\u2019 failure to pass a budget for the upcoming fiscal year\u00a0<\/a>\u2013 has forced the agency to reduce services, lay off staff, and freeze hiring for open positions, leaving leadership fearful of what lies ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe simply don\u2019t know what to expect,\u201d Garrigan said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very uncertain and worrisome time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Safe Berks is\u00a0one of many organizations in Berks County feeling the pinch<\/a>\u00a0from the budget impasse, which makes it impossible for the state to make billions of dollars in payments to nonprofits, schools, local governments, and other organizations that provide services to residents.<\/p>\n

Garrigan explained that about 75% of funding for Safe Berks is dependent on local, state, and federal funding, some of which is federal money that passes through the state before getting to the agency.<\/p>\n

Due to the budget impasse, which has resulted in a stoppage in funds of between $75,000 and $100,000 a month, Safe Berks has been forced to deplete its cash reserves and rely on a line of credit.<\/p>\n

If funding is not soon restored, Garrigan is fearful the agency may have to tap into some investments, risking further harm to its financial future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe line of credit is great to have as a backup, but the interest on it is horrible,\u201d Garrigan explained. \u201cWhat happens if this keeps going and we run out of our reserves?\u201d<\/p>\n

Shutting down the agency, she emphasized, is not an option.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe absolutely cannot close down,\u201d Garrigan said. \u201cThere\u2019s just too much need in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Beth Garrigan, Safe Berks CEO, poses in her office at the agency\u2019s headquarters.Work of Safe Berks is \u2018Multi-Layered and Complex\u2019<\/p>\n

Gearing up to celebrate its\u00a050th\u00a0anniversary in 2026<\/a>, Safe Berks has served tens of thousands of women, men, and children seeking escape from sexual and domestic violence.<\/p>\n

Safe Berks recently implemented programs in which\u00a0staff members meet in community settings with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault<\/a>.\u00a0That enables people to access help where they are comfortable, without the need to visit the agency\u2019s headquarters.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately,\u00a0most of those staffing positions have had to be cut<\/a>, greatly reducing the presence of trained staff throughout the community and forcing people who need help into unfamiliar territory.<\/p>\n

The services that Safe Berks offers are tested and proven, Garrigan said, although many people are unaware of the depth of the organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people think we\u2019re just a shelter, but the work we do is multi-layered and complex,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"A woman studies a red silhouette representing a victim of domestic violence.Looking Ahead with Apprehension<\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s nearly impossible to plan programming or anticipate the agency\u2019s capacity to provide services, Garrigan and others are tentatively looking toward the coming year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll try to maintain the bare minimum in staffing, and we\u2019re looking into how to generate additional streams of revenue,\u201d Garrigan shared.<\/p>\n

Nine of the agency\u2019s approximately 60 employees have already been laid off, and others are seeking other employment as they anticipate that further cuts may be necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have to let go of people who are doing this work from their hearts is incredibly difficult,\u201d Garrigan said. \u201cThose layoffs were the hardest thing I ever had to do.\u201d Garrigan said that shelter residents and other clients are sensing the uncertainty surrounding the agency, resulting in a general sense of unease. \u201cI thought the time during Covid was bad,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is worse than Covid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Walkers participate in a Silent Witness event sponsored by Safe Berks.\u2018This is Just Devastating\u2019<\/p>\n

Echoing leaders of other area nonprofits, Garrigan praised the Berks County community for stepping up in times of need to support organizations that serve them and their neighbors.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity support is big in Berks County, and we have a strong donor base,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She remains concerned, however, that many people are unaware of the precarious situation service organizations are facing due to the four-month funding delay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re fighting so hard, and this is just devastating,\u201d Garrigan said. \u201cA lot of people can ignore the situation because it doesn\u2019t affect them, but this is impacting everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if the legislature passes a budget tomorrow and the delayed money is released, there will be a lag time until funding reaches community organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to keep doing what we do as well as we can,\u201d Garrigan said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working in this community for a long time, and we know that our services are needed. I just hope we don\u2019t get so deep into debt that we can\u2019t get out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Susan Shelly McGovern for Berks County Community Foundation Pictured above: Safe Berks is preparing to celebrate 50…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26720,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-26719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}