Domestic violence and sexual assault survivor advocates gathered in the Pennsylvania Capitol rotunda on Tuesday, calling on legislators to pass the state budget on time with survivors’ needs at the forefront and warning of the consequences of last year’s stalemate.

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence is advocating for an increase in the Department of Human Services domestic violence line item of $8 million to bring the total to $31 million. The Pennsylvania Coalition to Advance Respect is calling for an increase in the DHS rape crisis line item of $12.5 million to bring the total funding to $25 million.

Survivor services programs are still reeling from last year’s budget impasse, which left survivors and service providers without state support for more than a third of the year.

“Last year’s budget impasse lasted 135 days, leaving programs without critically important resources. Programs were forced to lay off staff, and some teetered on the brink of closing,” said Susan Higginbotham, chief executive officer of PCADV. “We are here today to ask the legislature to pass the budget on time in 2026. Survivors cannot wait for services, and we don’t want to be here next year, talking about programs and having to close due to insufficient funding.”

The organizations say the budget increases are necessary to offset the deficits from last year as well as provide for the growing caseloads of survivors.

“When a survivor walks into a hospital, someone has to walk beside them. When a survivor faces a courtroom, a counseling session, the hardest moment of their life, someone has to be there,” Yolanda Edrington, chief executive officer of Respect Together, which oversees PCAR’s operations, said. “And they need to know that someone will be there today and tomorrow.”

Legislators also spoke at the event, and several more attended to show their support. Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El, D-Lancaster, Rep. Nikki Rivera, D-Lancaster and Rep. Carol Hill-Evans, D-York, assured advocates that funding for these budget items would remain top of mind as negotiations move forward.

“Something that has come up a lot this budget month because it is the 250th anniversary of the founding of this country is that Pennsylvania is the birthplace of American Freedom … And so to my colleagues, the question stands: If someone picks up the phone because they’re in danger, and nobody answers because we couldn’t be bothered to do our job, are they really free?” Smith-Wade-El said. “It’s incumbent upon us not to just pass a budget on time, but to deliver a budget that works for working people, and to deliver a budget that doesn’t flat fund survivor services.”

In 2025, there were 4,227 unmet requests to PCADV programs from domestic violence victims, many of which were for emergency shelter, hotel or emergency relocation, all due to a lack of funding. Domestic violence survivors are the largest population waiting for resources in the state, and they wait longer for help than any other group, according to Higginbotham.

State funding for Pennsylvania’s 47 rape crisis centers has remained mostly stagnant for the past six years, aside from a $250,000 increase for fiscal year 2025-26. These centers have experienced an 11% decrease in federal Victims of Crime Act funds since 2020.

“Flat funding is not neutral. It is a cut,” said Joyce Lukima, chief operating officer of PCAR.

Doubling the rape crisis budget would restore and stabilize the state survivor services system and sustain 24/7 crisis response, counseling, medical and court accompaniment, prevention education and legal advocacy, according to PCAR.

The deadline for the fiscal year 2026-27 budget is June 30, putting the pressure on legislators to approve budget increases aimed at expanding services for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. In 2025, the state budget was not finalized until Nov. 12. In 2024, the budget was signed on July 11, the closest to an on-time budget that Pennsylvania has had since Gov. Josh Shapiro took office in 2023.