Baltimore's HER Resiliency Center sues Moore, state over withheld VOCA funds

HER Resiliency Center, the Baltimore nonprofit that provides trauma counseling and survivor advocacy for women affected by domestic violence, sex trafficking, addiction and poverty, has filed suit against the state of Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore and the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy (GOCPP), alleging withheld reimbursements under the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) forced the organization to suspend services at its West Franklin Street site. Natasha Guynes, founder and president of HER Resiliency Center, said, “We just don’t have the money to continue spending with the hopes of being repaid.”

The complaint, as described in filings and public statements by the organization, asserts breach of contract, violations of VOCA and violations of the First Amendment. The Daily Record reports the center alleges Maryland underpaid $219,000 in victim aid funding and that the underpayment “forced it to suspend operations” and “may force it to close.” Guynes told reporters, “They have hamstrung my operations.”

HER Resiliency Center has received VOCA funds through GOCPP since Fiscal Year 2020, according to the organization’s account of the funding stream. The West Franklin Street space that housed programming is described by the organization as now empty, inactive and out of operation, and leaders say interrupted reimbursements have hampered the center’s ability to fund safe housing, transportation and other immediate needs for survivors. One program-impact description filed with reporters noted the center’s inability to fully show up for clients financially when cash outlays are not reimbursed.

Procedural posture of the litigation is unclear in public reporting: attorneys representing the center said the lawsuit would be served in mid-January, other notices indicate a filing in Baltimore City Circuit Court last week, and some reports describe the case as headed to federal court. HER Resiliency Center is represented pro bono by Timothy Sutton of the Baltimore firm Nguyen Roche Sutton; plaintiffs’ counsel is the point of contact for confirmation of filing location, docket numbers and service status.

GOCPP has responded by emphasizing fiduciary responsibilities and the scale of its grant portfolio. Arinze Ifekauche, director of communications and deputy legislative director for GOCPP, provided the agency’s statement: “As the State Administering Agency for Public Safety funds, we are a fiduciary to Maryland taxpayers. We stand by the fairness and transparency of our grantmaking process for our $300M annual grant portfolio.”

Beyond HER Resiliency Center, nonprofit leaders in Baltimore have told reporters that funding was pulled or significantly reduced for other organizations, and some said they were hesitant to speak out for fear of retaliation. As the West Franklin Street site sits empty and a $219,000 underpayment is contested, the dispute centers on how VOCA reimbursements are administered and whether those funding decisions will leave victim services in Baltimore financially exposed as the case moves through the courts.