March 12, 2009

Strains in the Safety Net

Social-service groups face growing demand and a drop in support

By Paula Wasley

It was early April last year when Marta B. Peláez began to see a sudden increase in the number of women and children seeking help from the battered-women's shelter she oversees in San Antonio.

At first, says Ms. Peláez, "we thought it was an out-of-season peak."

But as the numbers began to climb, donations from individuals began to fall off. Requests for shelter at Family Violence Prevention Services had more than doubled by the fall. The shelter didn't realize

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