Iowa City domestic violence program expanding to five more counties

The Domestic Violence Intervention Program of Iowa City is expanding its services to five more counties in Southeast Iowa, which will result in a mixture of closure and merging of already-existing programs in the area.

After nearly a decade of significant funding cuts from the state and federal level to victim services, DVIP was awarded $635,284 in state and federal funding. That money will go toward expanding services in DVIP of Iowa City's current four-county service area, which includes Johnson, Cedar, Iowa and Washington counties, to include Keokuk, Van Buren, Lee, Henry and Des Moines counties.

Kristie Fortmann-Doser, Domestic Violence Intervention Program executive director, said the transition to the new, regionalized service system -- which will be implemented over the next six months -- is both exciting and daunting.

"I'm very excited about some of the ways that the state and federal leadership have responded to the crisis needs we have right now, and that they are paying attention to the fact they have been cutting us in the past decade and responding in a positive way," Fortmann-Doser said Thursday. "I'm concerned about shelters and the lack of resources. That's something that has been happening over the last decade and this is going to be a significant loss in terms of how many physical spaces we are going to have for victims, it's kind of give and take."

The funds are administered by the Crime Victim Assistance Division of the Iowa Attorney General's Office. The Division developed a plan to regionalize victim services over the last decade, when funds were being cut, and the state will now have six regions with competitive grants. The grants provide domestic abuse comprehensive services, shelter-based services and sexual abuse services. DVIP was given funds to provide comprehensive services and shelter-based services.

The move to a regional system will lead to a combination of merging and dissolving already-existent victim services. Fortmann-Doser said the Tri-State Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Abuse, in Keokuk, will dissolve and DVIP will take on Domestic Abuse Comprehensive Services for the YWCA Domestic Violence Shelter in Burlington, but work with them to determine whether they can keep their shelter open.

She said funding for the current service area will not be stretched further, and the state and federal funding they've received will go toward taking on the five additional counties. The 1105 project -- which will serve as a collaborative campus for the Crisis Center of Johnson County, DVIP,  the Free Lunch Program and National Alliance on Mental Illness of Johnson County -- is also expected to ease the transition.

DVIP will work to transition support services that have served victims in the five additional counties over the next few months, and Fortmann-Doser said she is excited about the collaboration DVIP will be able to have with the additional counties to further improve overall service in Eastern Iowa.

Due to program cuts across the state over the last ten years, Fortmann-Doser said victims have been forced to travel farther to reach services because many are not in their home-area, which will continue to be a concern during the regional transition.

"We are looking at modernizing what we're doing, but also knowing how victims struggle to get emergency shelters and how victims struggle with safety needs are something that we really need to keep at the forefront of how we evaluate this process going forward," Fortmann-Doser said.

Fortmann-Doser said the average stay of victims at the DVIP of Iowa City used to be 25 to 30 days. Over 10 years, the average stay has increased to 45 days, which is largely because it has become more difficult for victims to get access to affordable housing outside the shelter. She said the location generally shelters 35 to 40 women and children a night, and is full almost all the time.

"We are seeing significant changes to the growth in our serviec area by adding five counties, we are getting support from the state and federal government to do that, but it's still a significant change for our program," Fortmann-Doser said.

For that reason, Fortmann-Doser said they will be working with communities, landlords, realtors and businesses on alternative housing options for victims of domestic violence -- which could be anything from short-term rental assistance to short-term hotel assistance. She said they will also be working to hire more volunteers and staff who are from, and can work in, the additional five counties to ensure a smooth transition, which is expected to be complete Jan. 1.