Wednesday, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senator Yee’s bill to restore $16 million in funding to California domestic violence shelters. Thank you to everyone who called/emailed the Governor and asked him to sign the bill!

Senator Yee’s bill restores funding through June of 2010. We will continue our advocacy to make sure that California’s domestic violence shelters continue to receive funding after that date! To read more, go to:

“California Restores Funding to Domestic Violence Shelters” San Jose Mercury News

“A Reprieve for California Shelters” New York Times

This summer, the Governor, through his line item veto power, eliminated all state funding for domestic violence shelters, leaving shelters across the state without any state-level funding to run their programs.  St. Anthony Foundation has been working to help preserve publicly-funded health and social service programs, and blogged about the “brutal budget” after it was signed. Now that the Senate is back in session, Senator Leland Yee has reintroduced a bill that would restore funding for domestic violence shelters in California.  Senator Yee’s bill, SBX3 13, passed the Senate on Wednesday and is now on  Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk, awaiting his signature.

If you support the reinstatement of funding for domestic violence shelters in California, please take a moment and contact Governor Schwarzenegger and ask him to sign the bill.

With the announcement of the resignation Alaska Governor Sarah Palin last weekend, I’ve been reminded of times in my life when I’ve considered quitting.

My first try at college was in 1992, and I found out pretty quickly that it’s almost impossible to be in an abusive relationship and do well in school. My abuser lived on campus with me and much of my freshman year was spent in terror. The next year, I decided to drop out and move home to live with my parents. I remember feeling like a failure and wondering if I would ever go back to school. Two years later, I experienced one of the worst days of my life when I found out that my college boyfriend had killed himself. A few months after his death, I decided to quit my minimum wage job and go back to college.

My transition back to college was not a smooth one. My transcript was marred with bad grades. The admissions representative said that I could take classes for one semester on a conditional basis and if my grades were good enough, I would be accepted as a degree-seeking student. After one semester with a 3.925 grade point average, I was in.

Four years later, I graduated with honors. A few weeks after my graduation, I had the most severe episode of panic disorder that I’d ever experienced in my life. It was absolutely debilitating. I felt like a shell of my former self and I was afraid that I would never be able to function again. I was waiting to hear about a few grad school applications, and was afraid that I was going to be too sick to start grad school in the fall.

An acceptance letter from a grad school in New York City arrived in the mail at the same time that an acceptance letter for a grad program from my hometown college arrived. I decided to quit living in my hometown and to move to New York City so that I could study social work in an urban setting.

During my 3rd semester in grad school in Manhattan, I experienced something that shook me to my core: September 11, 2001. (more…)

“As a senior on a fixed income, about 75% of my check goes to my housing. Thanks to St. Anthony’s I can eat every day. St. Anthony’s is a blessing.”

Subscribe to the St. Anthony Foundation YouTube Channel and watch more first hand the stories from St. Anthony’s guests and clients.

If you tell Barbara Coleman that there is a bill coming up in Congress that relates to poverty or hunger, her first response is, “When do we go? I need to talk to those people.”

As a formerly homeless woman who has fought many battles with poverty, hunger, and homelessness, Barbara felt that the story of her survival fell on deaf ears at many of the places she turned to for help. But she knew that her story was representative of so many around her — people who were struggling to piece together enough food to eat for a day, a safe place to sleep for the night, or medical care when they become ill. In working with St. Anthony’s Advocacy Program, Barbara has learned that her story is important for policy makers and other advocates to hear.

(more…)