In Lebanon County, a near-death blamed on Pa. budget standstill

Groups that work with traumatized and vulnerable Pennsylvanians say the state budget impasse has led to at least one attempted suicide.

 

Domestic Violence Intervention of Lebanon County, Inc. has tried to cope with a lack of state funding since July. In a bid to keep costs down, the organization has halted transportation services for clients.

The move led one woman to miss multiple therapy sessions, prompting an early-morning emergency call to the organization’s executive director, Jennifer Snyder.

“Our local buses don’t go to the facility where she needs to go to see her therapist, and she had tried to take her own life,” said Snyder during an appearance on WITF’s Smart Talk.

“She was very fragile and she missed several appointments with her therapist.” said Snyder. “And she was just at a state in her life where she just felt that she couldn’t take it anymore, and she was just wanting to give up.”

Nonprofits across the state have had to line up emergency funding or curb services due to the lack of state and some federal funding during the impasse.

Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed an interim budget last month, saying he wants to hold out for a deal on the entire spending plan.