Rhode Island — A nationwide coalition of domestic violence, sexual assault, housing, youth, and homelessness organizations filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s sweeping and unlawful conditions placed on federal grant funding from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These new funding restrictions target diversity, equity, inclusion, and transgender rights, putting life-saving services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, LGBTQI+ youth, and unhoused communities at risk. Quotes from both plaintiffs in the case and co-counsel are below. 

PLAINTIFFS 

Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence

“These harmful funding conditions jeopardize decades of progress in how we care for survivors and prevent domestic violence,” said Lucy Rios, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence (RICADV). “They attempt to strip away the principles of equity, inclusion, and truth that our services are built on. The data is clear: domestic violence is a public health crisis, it one of the leading drivers of homelessness for women and children, and it doesn’t affect us all equally. There are disparities based on identities like race, sexual orientation, immigration status, and gender identity that impact access to services and justice. In the middle of a housing crisis, restricting access to safe, affirming shelter is not only dangerous, it is devastating and will put lives at risk. These changes would force providers to make an impossible choice between federal support and their commitment to serving all survivors, especially those who are LGBTQ+, unhoused, or from Black and Brown communities. We will not abandon what we know works, and we will not turn our backs on those most impacted by violence.”

California Partnership to End Domestic Violence

“When survivors and their children flee abusive relationships, they can find safe housing and services because of HUD and HHS funding. New grant conditions tell LGBTQ+ survivors that they can only access these services if they erase who they are. These funds should open the way to safety, healing and services for every one of the millions of Californians looking for help during the most dangerous and traumatic times of their lives”, said Krista Colón, Executive Director of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. “Instead, advocates are being ordered to limit their services and ignore the needs of survivors, running the risk of harsh penalties if they don’t comply. This puts our public safety at risk, removing communities’ tools to prevent multiple forms of violence and oppression at once. Survivors do not exist in a vacuum – they are also impacted by racism, targeted for their gender identities, and threatened by attacks on immigration. The less preventionists are able focus on these root issues, the more domestic violence is allowed to continue in our society. At the Partnership, we are committed to ensuring that healing and prevention services reach all survivors and communities, especially those who shoulder daily discrimination.”

Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault

“The services we and our members provide are evidence-based, trauma-informed, and victim-centered. These new grant conditions are in direct conflict with best practices as well as existing federal statutes, requirements, and guidance that regulate these funds,” said Brie Franklin, Executive Director of the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Violence. “We will continue to work to ensure survivors, especially those most at-risk of experiencing violence, can access the services they need to be safe and are treated with dignity and respect.”

Community Care Alliance

“Community Care Alliance is committed to preserving the rights of our most vulnerable community members and stand ready to defend any threats to the resources that connect people to basic needs for housing, food, and healthcare, including behavioral health.” Michelle Taylor, MS, CAGS, LHMC, VP Of Social Health Services

District of Columbia Coalition Against Domestic Violence

“When life-saving access to anti-domestic violence services and housing are under threat, the damage has a resonating impact felt not only by survivors but society as a whole,” said Dawn Dalton, Executive Director of DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “These new anti-equity mandates are unlawful and in direct contradiction with the federal statutes that govern the federally funded services provided in communities across the country. The DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence stands for the safety of all survivors and for the protection of the programs that serve them.”

End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence

“Domestic violence doesn’t discriminate, and we move to tailor our services so no one is left behind. Liberation is always the goal and restrictions often impair that goal, creating another setback that will leave people behind. If our interconnectedness is not recognized and all domestic violence victims are not supported on their paths to liberation then no one is left whole, including families and communities,” Monique C. Minkens, Executive Director, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin.

Foster Forward

“Foster Forward is proud to stand alongside other organizations in defense of the young people and communities we serve. These new conditions jeopardize our ability to provide safe, inclusive, and essential services for the youth who count on us. We’re grateful to our legal partners, whose pro bono support is helping us uphold both the law and our values,” said Lisa Guillette, Executive Director, Foster Forward

Haus of Codec

House of Hope Community Development Corporation

“At House of Hope, we believe in the inherent dignity and rights of all people—especially those who are most vulnerable and often have the least access to the resources needed to advocate for themselves,” said Jordan Day, Board President at House of Hope CDC. “The new federal contract requirements undermine those values by forcing providers like us to comply with restrictions that limit diversity, equity, inclusion, and access to essential care. We cannot, in good conscience, sign contracts that go against our mission. That’s why we’ve joined this lawsuit—to stand up for our community and defend the rights of those with the most to lose.”

Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence

“Iowa survivors and their children cannot rebuild their lives without safe, stable housing,” says Dr. Maria Corona, executive director of the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Iowa victim services are recognized nationally for our Housing First Model of service delivery — a framework that prioritizes access to permanent housing as the foundation for safety and healing for domestic and sexual violence survivors. These unlawful funding conditions threaten not only vital housing protections and best practices, but victim service provider agencies that help survivors find safety and a future free from violence. Forcing us and our network of service providers to choose between upholding our core values of serving all crime victims versus losing essential funding is a dangerous and unjust demand.”

Jane Doe Inc., The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence

“As with previous, new conditions attached to funding through the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), new restrictions on federal grant funding from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) directly threaten the health and safety of survivors,” said Hema Sarang-Sieminski, Executive Director of Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. “Access to dignified, compassionate counseling, care, and case management, and safe, stable housing are among the most critical needs for many survivors who are escaping violence and beginning on the pathway to healing. These new restrictions threaten to harm efforts to advance health equity and prevent future violence, and undermine the ability of service providers to support survivors in need — particularly immigrant survivors, LGBTQIA+ survivors with disabilities, unhoused survivors, and many others from communities that are disproportionately targeted by violence. We stand with our fellow coalitions, advocates, service providers and survivors in calling for these dangerous, draconian requirements to be rejected unequivocally.”

Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence

“Congress created programs and laws like the Violence Against Women Act and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to ensure all survivors have access to safety and support, but also with an emphasis on reaching those who are underserved or who have additional barriers,” said Michelle McCormick, Executive Director of the Kanas Coalition against Sexual and Domestic Violence. “By creating new conditions or providing harmful interpretations of the laws, the administration’s mandates threaten the core of what our programs do—save lives, promote dignity, and uphold justice for victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence, with an emphasis on centering those who are most vulnerable.”

North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence

“Service providers rely on federal funds from HUD and HHS to help meet the ever-growing needs of domestic and sexual violence victims in our state. This suit is a continuation of our work to ensure domestic violence service providers and allied professionals are clear about the terms and conditions attached to using federal funds and are best able to continue holistically serving all survivors requesting services in North Carolina,” said Carianne Fisher, Executive Director of the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Oregon Coalition Against Domestic And Sexual Violence 

“Oregon’s domestic and sexual violence community-based service organizations provide life-saving services every day to diverse communities across the state. In rural and urban communities, these organizations respond to all victims to provide safety planning, support, and guidance. The Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence works closely with our member programs to not only respond to violence, but to prevent it. If the new certifications are allowed to proceed, they will create unnecessary barriers to access, destroy direct communication, and compromise confidentiality — which is the very key to safety. It is disheartening to continue to see this vital safety that is already underfunded, experience further chaos by orders that do not even reflect the statues that the grants were created by,” said Keri Moran-Kuhn, Executive Director, Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence 

“These new certifications and conditions require programs to make legally binding promises that conflict with laws, missions, and values, making it even more difficult to serve victims of domestic violence,” said Susan Higginbotham, CEO of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “DV victims are the largest population awaiting homelessness resources in Pennsylvania, and they wait longer for support than any other group. People fleeing violent homes deserve dignity, health, and safety without barriers to access.”

Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness

“Homelessness cannot be solved without confronting the deep systemic disparities that make race, gender identity, and background determining factors in who receives help and how they receive help. Prohibiting our ability to do this limits our ability to fulfill our mission,” said Kim Simmons, Executive Director at The Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness.

ValorUS

Virginia Sexual And Domestic Violence Action Alliance

“We are deeply concerned by this Administration’s continued attempts to force its ideological and political agenda onto some of the most vulnerable populations in our communities: victims of sexual violence, domestic violence, stalking, and trafficking ” said Kristi VanAudenhove, Executive Director of the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance. “Attempting to limit victim access to holistic and healing-centered services, including emergency shelter, transitional housing, and prevention education, is not only inconsistent with the federal statutes that govern this funding, but it’s just plain wrong. All victims in Virginia, and across the nation, deserve safety and healing….without conditions, without restrictions, and without fear of retaliation.” 

Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault

“These conditions strike at the very heart of our work to end sexual violence. They would force us to compromise the foundational role of a coalition: to center the voices of all survivors, advocate for systemic change, and the representation of member programs. We refuse to participate in policies that demand we abandon our values and erase the most marginalized survivors—particularly BIPOC, LGBTQ+, immigrant, and disabled communities—who experience disproportionately high rates of sexual violence. Our mission is clear: to create social change to end sexual violence. That cannot happen without a bold, inclusive, and survivor-centered movement,” said Amanda Dotson and Kelly Moe Litke, Co-Directors of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

CO-COUNSEL

Democracy Forward

“This administration continues to target people in vulnerable communities; and we continue to meet them in court. Organizations serving survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, LGBTQ+ youth, and people experiencing homelessness should not be forced to abandon their work, erase the identities of those they serve, or compromise their values just to keep their doors open,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “This unlawful and harmful policy puts extreme schemes ahead of people’s dignity and safety by restricting essential federal support. At Democracy Forward, we are proud to be alongside this nationwide coalition and our partners to hold the administration accountable for undermining people’s safety.”

National Women’s Law Center

“The Trump administration is once again holding back funding for critical services in the name of a racist, xenophobic, transphobic agenda,” said Lauren Khouri, Senior Director of Workplace Equality at the National Women’s Law Center. “This is unlawful and unacceptable, and we will fight for our clients to secure the funding they deserve, that keeps women, their families, and our communities safe.”

Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island

“The Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island proudly represents six courageous Rhode Island nonprofits – and many others nationwide – who are confronting injustice in order to provide urgently needed safety, housing security, healthcare to vulnerable individuals and families, free from unlawful conditions,” said Amy Romero, Chief Legal Counsel of the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island.

Jacobson Lawyers Group

“We are honored to support these courageous domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions and direct service providers standing up for themselves and for all those who need these vital services by challenging the Administration’s imposition of unlawful and unconstitutional conditions on federal support for vulnerable communities,” said Dan Jacobson, Founder of Jacobson Lawyers Group.

ACLU Foundation of Rhode Island

“It is an injustice to take away critical funding for housing and other services for irrelevant, unlawful, and ideologically driven reasons in a time when Rhode Island, and communities across the country, are experiencing a growing housing crisis,” said ACLU of RI Executive Director Steven Brown. “We are dedicated to ensuring the grant process is fair for all, and that organizations are not excluded for failing to comply with conditions that undermine the very statutes these federal agencies are supposed to be implementing.”