Compass Center in ‘crisis’ mode as funding shortfall threatens staffing

The state’s only rape crisis center is sounding an alarm: Unless more funds are raised soon, positions will be cut at a time when demand for services is at a record high.

The Compass Center provides prevention education, crisis intervention, counseling and advocacy to those of all ages who are survivors of domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, child sexual abuse and human trafficking/sexual exploitation.

All survivor services are free and confidential.

“When someone is assaulted, our team is often the first people they’re talking to,” executive director Michelle Trent said.

“You don’t know about us until you need us, but when you need us, it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, thank goodness you’re here.’ Without those services, our community would be at a loss for how to support victims.”

The Compass Center leadership now is speaking up about a funding shortfall they say could force layoffs as soon as Jan. 1.

“We’ll lose at least one therapist, if not two, and we’ll lose some of our crisis-responding folks, so we won’t have people available when people are in crisis,” Trent said. “Our crisis folks respond throughout the community. They can go anywhere. Someone calls and asks for an advocate, and we’re there, and we won’t be.”

The situation largely stems from changing approaches to government funding, Trent said.

The federal Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA, was established in 1984 and supports victim service providers such as The Compass Center. It’s funded by fines incurred by people or businesses convicted of federal crimes.

In fiscal 2021, The Compass Center received $385,000 in VOCA funds, Trent said. It dropped to $75,000 two years later, offset by a one-time state contribution of $438,000 funded through federal pandemic relief dollars.

The current annual VOCA funding, $68,000, reflects a number of changes and variables within the federal system. At one point, funds received through case settlements were transferred into the federal general fund instead of VOCA. While changes have been made, the fund hasn’t rebounded.

Funds are allocated by state based on population and then awarded by grants to victim service providers. There are about 75 victim service providers in South Dakota, including many in the Sioux Falls area such as the Children’s Home Shelter for Family Safety, Call to Freedom and Sioux Falls Court Appointed Special Advocates.

The agencies collaborate closely and refer to each other, Trent said.

“The reality is there’s not enough services; even with all our services combined, we can’t meet the need in the community,” she said.

The Compass Center, which was founded in 1975 as a grassroots effort to help victims of rape, was rebranded in 2008. In an average year, more than 1,000 individuals in the Sioux Falls metro area are served. The organization also receives state, city and county funding.

“But the increase in services, increase in costs to provide services and all the pieces that go with what every business is experiencing, when you combine it with the dwindling funds, you reach the point of crisis,” Trent said.

“This is not sustainable, and we will have to cut services and cut staff if something doesn’t surface.”

Meanwhile, September represented the highest month ever for sexual assault calls, with 28 coming in a three-week period. The Compass Center staff members respond to calls 24 hours a day, and the figures don’t count victims who are coming into the office at 1704 S. Cleveland Ave. or calling in and not reporting to law enforcement or going to the hospital.

“During the day, we often get calls from Child’s Voice, we get calls from schools if they have a student reporting they were sexually assaulted. We had one case last year with a sextortion situation, and we got called to respond,” Trent said.

“More and more, we’re getting calls from businesses. HR might be sitting in the office with a victim and not knowing what to do, or a person is saying they’re unsafe right now and don’t know what to do, and our advocate responds where the victim is at.”

There’s a 65-person waitlist for counseling, and “I anticipate that waitlist will go up dramatically” if funds and positions are cut, Trent said.

Additionally, The Compass Center follows cases through the court system to help advocate for victims and provides youth programs that focus on prevention.

Eighteen percent of the organization’s revenue is budgeted to come from donations, events and other fundraising. Its annual Cultivating Courage fundraiser is Oct. 24 and experiencing lagging ticket sales.

It will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Atrium at Blue Haven and include a wall of champagne, heavy appetizers, drinks, photo opportunities, a live auction of two community art pieces and a Give & Take Wall. Every dollar donated over the $150 ticket will be matched by a donor.

Click here to learn more and register.

Additionally, The Compass Center is raffling off floor-seat tickets to one of the last Taylor Swift Eras tour concerts in the U.S. Raffle tickets are priced at $100, and they are limited. Click here to purchase one.

Trent is still hoping for additional state funding this year, but even with that, it’s going to take at least $150,000 to reach fundraising goals and retain the whole 29-person staff next year, she said.

“We don’t want to have to exist. We want this problem to no longer be here, but the reality is it exists, and we need victim service providers to take care of our community,” she said. “People feel insulated, but it is happening to your neighbor. It’s happening so much more than people realize until they need us.”