A quiet crisis has befallen the region's nonprofits that come to the aid of women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

Abuse is worsening, if not in the number of incidents, certainly in the intensity of the violence and the frequency of the attacks, nonprofit officials say.  At the same time, fiscal belt-tightening among their recession-battered funding sources is reducing the public and private monies available to keep shelters open, staff around-the-clock telephone hotilines, and offer medical and legal advocacy and other services.

The consequences of domestic abuse go beyond the terrible emotional and physical toll paid by the women who endure it.  Children living with domestic violence also pay a high price.  Studies report, for example, that they are more likely to suffer psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety and guilt.  They are more likely to do poor in school.  They have high risk of drug or alcohol abuse and juvenile deliquency.  Any they are more likely to be a perpetratior of violence or a victim of violence later in life.