The Pride Center of Vermont is keeping its support hotline active amid its recent closure, in partnership with the Vermont Network’s Steps to End Domestic Violence.
Operating since 1999, the longtime nonprofit announced a pause in services Friday due to a funding shortfall, and the board issued a call to raise approximately $350,000 needed to restore operations.
In the meantime, the center’s support line remains active and will redirect to the Steps to End Domestic Violence’s hotline, according to Monica Allard, co-chair of the Pride Center’s Board of Directors.
When she heard about the closure Friday, Nicole Kubon, executive director of Steps, said she immediately called the hotline’s director.
“They are one of our sister organizations through the Vermont Network — a statewide coalition that supports domestic and sexual violence survivor organizations,” she said. “I said, ‘What can we do to help?’ And we just made a plan.”
Operating for at least three decades, the StepsVT hotline at 802-658-1996 runs 24/7 and offers victims of domestic violence a free, confidential pathway to resources and referrals. Last year, the organization received about 2,800 calls or about 54 calls each week, according to Kubon.
The SafeSpace Anti-Violence Program at the Pride Center is a confidential phone help line at 802-863-0003 and secure chat online for LGBTQ+ Vermonters, or in Spanish on WhatsApp at 802-860-7812, for those who have experienced violence, abuse, bias, hate and discrimination. Advocates are available for calls or chats between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday to Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays, according to the website.
The partnership effectively makes the hotline available 24/7. Both hotlines remain active, Allard said, so it doesn’t matter which number callers use.
Created with grant funding as an independent nonprofit in the early 2000s, SafeSpace merged with the Pride Center in 2007. It currently consists of a full-time director, a full-time advocate and a part-time advocate, according to Allard.
The staff, who were laid off Friday, will be paid in full for time worked, as well as up to two weeks of accrued time off, and receive health benefits until at least the end of the month, the board announced Monday.
“We recognize that this does not provide enough support for some staff and are exploring additional ways to reduce the harm of this sudden crisis,” the board’s latest statement reads. “This includes, but is not limited to, providing free access to financial planning assistance and job search assistance, while simultaneously acknowledging and amplifying staffs’ independent fundraising efforts.”
While the closure of the Pride Center leaves a major hole in services for LGBTQ+ people, Kubon said she is cautiously hopeful that other programs across the state can rally to provide that support.
“We certainly already work with LGBTQ+ survivors, and we’ve had a strong partnership with Pride Center and Safe Space for many years,” she said.
In the meantime, the board is assessing the organization’s finances to figure out what went wrong and to create a plan to move forward.
“The outpouring of support has given us hope that the Center can be relaunched in the future with stronger accountability, governance and sustainability from the ground up,” the board’s statement reads. It also directs clients to partner organizations such as Vermont Cares, Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Howard Center Substance Use & Recovery Support, Pathways Mental Health Urgent Care and the LBGTQ+ National Hotline.
“We expect to have more information in the coming days to share about our partnership with the Vermont Network,” Allard said Monday.
This story will be updated
