Bucharest shelter for domestic violence victims to close due to lack of funding

Casa Invicta emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence will close as of May 1, 2019, after the Bucharest City Hall stopped funding the project, the Anais Association announced on Facebook. This is the only shelter of its kind in Bucharest, opened 24/7, the association’s representatives said.

Casa Invicta was a pilot center set up in August 2017 as part of a tripartite public private partnership. The Anais Association has been the service provider, the National Agency for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men provided the necessary space and utilities, while the City Hall through the General Direction of Social Assistance provided the funding.

“So far, the Bucharest City Hall has provided funding for the center’s operation for a period of 12 months and for a further period of six months, the activity's continuity being ensured with the support of Avon Romania, the Sensiblu Foundation and other individual donations,” the Anais Association wrote on Facebook.

“At present, Casa Invicta has remained without a durable and sustainable funding, which means that the center’s activity will stop as of May 1, 2019 […]. The Bucharest City Hall will no longer provide funding to continue the activity so, in the absence of reliable funding for a period of time, the center can no longer continue its work.”

In its turn, the Bucharest Municipality said that “funding activities of NGOs can be done both from public and private funds, with the mention that the social service for which funding is requested must be licensed for operation. According to the data published on the website of the Ministry of Labor and Social Justice, the Anais Association holds for the “Emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence – Casa Invicta” a temporary operating license issued on March 23, 2018 for one year. Considering the above, in the absence of a valid operating license, the local public authority can not finance the activity of any NGO,” local Hotnews.ro reported.

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