Community Minister Wayne Scott has pledged to support the at-risk Centre Against Abuse — but Government cannot offer them any additional funding.

The Royal Gazette revealed last month that the charity had been forced to close its shelter for victims of domestic violence — the only one on the Island — and risked having to axe all of its services unless emergency funds came through.

Generous residents and organisations have since stepped forward with donations to help the charity and more than 640 people have signed an online petition urging Government to provide an annual grant of at least $200,000 — it currently gives $75,000, cut from $100,000.

Mr Scott and Premier Michael Dunkley have met with Centre staff to learn more about their financial challenges and possible ways to help — but the Government has not offered any money to help them reopen the safe house.

“Without question, this Government values the tremendous contributions that the Centre for Abuse makes to our community,” Mr Scott said.

“They have a critical role in protecting the most vulnerable members of our society.

“I met with the principles of the Centre Against Abuse to discuss sustainable long-term solutions aimed at resolving their current financial challenges.”

Mr Scott said it was “a difficult decision to reduce the grant” for the Centre but that his Ministry was working to keep funding available because of the vital need of the charity’s services to the community.

“It is our aim to work with the Centre Against Abuse and other helping agencies overall to find viable solutions to ensure that they have the appropriate resources necessary to service the public,” he said. “I also want to take the opportunity to commend all those members of the community who in recent days and weeks have stepped forward to raise funds for the Centre.”

The Centre’s staff and board of trustees said they had been “overwhelmed” by the support of the community and were “deeply grateful”.

But they were disappointed Government had not followed in the footsteps of the community by offering a financial lifeline.

“We are also grateful to those many members of the community who have signed the petition that is circulating asking the Government to allocate funds to support the work that we do in working towards the fulfillment of our mission — to provide safe shelter, support and tools for those involved in domestic abuse and education and prevention to the community,” said a statement on behalf of the charity’s board.

“We met with Minister of Community, Culture and Sports Wayne Scott to discuss sustainable long-term solutions to our current financial challenges. We continue to consider and seek a number of solutions with the hope of opening the shelter again supported by a sustainable financial infrastructure.”

One possible solution could be to merge with another charity, such as the Women’s Resource Centre.

“The decision to close the shelter was neither sudden nor forced, but has been a concern of the board for many months as we discussed options to partner with other charities with similar missions to our own in order to reduce costs, and also to raise funds and lobby for further funding,” the board said.

“While we continue to work towards this goal, it is with real regret that we have determined that our shelter must remain closed for now.

“The reasons for this are financial — the ongoing costs of operating the shelter cannot be sustained by our current Government contribution of $75,000 alone, and to operate a facility such as this one requires substantial and ongoing financial support.

“This is not a political issue, it is a community issue. Domestic violence rises in times of economic hardship and at this time there is more of a demand than ever for the services we provide.

“However, it is these same economic conditions that have resulted in the funding shortfall which led to the closure of our shelter. For these reasons we believe that the Government has a responsibility to the community to provide funding to keep our safe house open while we work to resolve the issues that led to its closure. During our meeting with Mr Scott, we asked that Government support us in this, which along with the generous help we have had from members of the community, would allow us to reopen our shelter and provide the services which are required now more than ever.

“We also believe that our services should be listed as essential and we ask that ongoing provisions for them should be made from the Government budget, in the same way that education and health services are supported, so that our community’s taxpayer dollars will support the work we do.”

To donate to the Centre Against Abuse, visit www.centreagainstabuse.bm. The Centre urges donors to check your employer’s policies as many will match employee donations. You can sign the petition by logging on to www.change.org/p/bermuda-community-save-the-safe-house or you can sign in person at Canterbury Law Limited, on the first floor of the Swan Building at 26 Victoria Street, Hamilton.