| Updated: Feb. 4, 2021, 9:27 p.m.
Utah’s domestic violence shelters are asking the Utah Legislature for more support, as they face significant cuts in federal funding that could affect their ability to respond to the increase in people needing help during the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is a matter of life and death for victims,” said Jill Anderson, executive director of CAPSA, a nonprofit domestic violence, sexual abuse and rape recovery center serving Cache County and the Bear Lake area. “And us being able to provide shelter and crisis intervention, long-term housing, trauma-informed therapy, it’s all critical to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities.”
| Updated: Feb. 3, 2021, 2:00 a.m.
There’s a legend about a cowboy out in the woods with a pistol on his side, when it started to rain. This old cowpoke put on a jacket and, just like that, was hassled by law enforcement for carrying an illegally concealed firearm.
The story always seemed fishy to me, but it’s been told so many times around Utah’s Capitol that it has taken on a life of its own.
In past years, the one obstacle to passing the legislation has been Gov. Gary Herbert, who vetoed it in 2013 and kept it in check in subsequent years by threatening to veto it again, if it made it to his desk.
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Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse is a non-profit domestic violence, sexual abuse and rape recovery center serving Cache County and the Bear Lake area. Calls to the center have increased by over 100% since the pandemic began.
Domestic violence hotlines have been ringing off the hook this year, according to service providers like Jill Anderson, executive director of a Logan-based organization called Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse, or CAPSA.
She said her organization normally receives around 1,200 calls a quarter, but since the pandemic started, that number has gone up to 2,500.
At Seekhaven Family Crisis and Resource Center, a similar service provider in Moab, calls have more than doubled in 2020 compared to 2019.
OGDEN â As if concerns about getting COVID-19 arenât enough, some in Weber County and the rest of Utah have more to worry about â the threat of domestic violence.
As more people work and study from home and, generally, reduce their movements to guard against the spread of COVID-19, officials who assist domestic violence victims in Utah are reporting an increase in crisis calls.
Ogden-based YCC Family Crisis Center, for instance, reported 2,393 such calls in April, May and June, soon after the COVID-19 pandemic really started taking a toll. Thatâs a sharp jump from 891 for January, February and March and 613 for October, November and December 2019, and Margaret Rose, the YCC executive director, said the higher call count has continued.