When Sarah Bariya arrived in Lawrence in January to take over as executive director of the Sexual Trauma and Abuse Center, she was in for a rude shock: The organization was unable to meet the following week’s payroll.

“I would say, I was coming to a rape crisis center, and I expected it to be a normal, functioning rape crisis center that just needed an ED to take over,” Bariya said. 

“I just didn’t realize that there were a lot of things that needed to be fixed, and I don’t know if anybody knew how to fix it, and the fixing is what we’re still doing up to this point.”

The nonprofit center’s board had divided up ED responsibilities among a few staff during the six-month period between former director Jennifer Ananda’s departure and Bariya’s arrival. 

Aletra Johnson, who served as the Care Center board president until Kristin Soper assumed that role effective April 9, said the board learned of the problems after staff divulged them to Bariya. 

“I think that staff really, even though they knew they could talk to the board, they really needed that person that could be with them in an office setting for the entire day,” Johnson said.

But Bariya was thrust into far more than she expected.

She arrived from California, where she previously worked for women’s advocacy organization Tri-Valley Haven, on Monday, Jan. 21 and began work the next day. That Friday, Jan. 24, she said, she was pulled into an emergency meeting where several people became emotional, crying.

Payday was coming up on Feb. 5, and the money to compensate everyone wasn’t there. 

Bariya recommended the board place herself and all staff on furlough, effective at 5 p.m. Feb. 4. 

Board Secretary Daniel Smith said the center was heading toward a disaster rather than already in one. Public tax filings show the Care Center’s net income plummeted from $13,108 in fiscal year 2022 to -$110,419 in fiscal year 2023. 

“For folks on the outside looking in, it might seem like the pause was due to us sort of hitting a financial cliff,” Smith said, referring to an immediate furlough that also paused the center’s services. “But the reality is that our new executive director, Sarah Bariya, looking at the financials, saw an upcoming cliff down the road and decided to pump the brakes so that we didn’t reach that cliff.”

Johnson agreed it seemed so abrupt because Bariya had “just come in and saw the writing on the wall,” she said.

Untimely reimbursements

The Care Center, located at 330 Maine St. in Lawrence, serves more than 700 individuals across Douglas, Franklin and Jefferson counties every year. Bariya said the center answered 624 hotline calls in 2024.

Like many similar nonprofits, the Care Center relies heavily on fundraising and state and federal grants. Soper said reductions to the center’s Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding caused the center’s general fund to suffer. The U.S. Congress shrunk distribution dollars for victim services by almost 40% from fiscal years 2023 to 2024. 

According to data Johnson provided, the center budgeted for more VOCA funds than it received in 2022-2024 and was losing funding each year during that time.

Care Center’s VOCA Grants	2022	2023	2024
Budgeted	$302,622	$315,669	$184,545
Actual	$288,036	$198,850	$91,242

Bariya said although the center was not in any debt when she came in and isn’t currently, it had accumulated a “substantial backlog” of reporting to funders. Late reporting impeded timely reimbursements, she said.

But the most recent public tax records paint a picture of a bubbling financial crisis. Deferred revenue skyrocketed from $1,997 at the beginning of fiscal year 2023 to $189,375 at the end of the year — an almost 100-fold increase. And $67,786 in “other liabilities” was also reported at the end of that year.

Board members said they did not have a snapshot of finances during an interview for this article. Later, Soper said the board does not have information about why deferred revenue spiked and where the liabilities are from. She said she wouldn’t be able to retrieve those answers because the center is closely monitoring its budget and would incur accounting fees for requesting that information.

Board members agreed a lack of fundraising stunted income most and said staff and the board plan to revitalize those efforts. The center earned $20,896 through fundraising events in 2022 but $6,843 in 2023, according to tax forms.

Board Vice President Mary Costello said because of a staff shortage, the center was unable to host its annual fundraiser last year. The center has to consider that certain grants that pay for salaries have fundraising stipulations. Costs of operations increased, as well, Costello said.

‘Permanently furloughed’

A former employee, who we aren’t naming because staff signed confidentiality agreements that requested they don’t publicly discuss the situation with community partners or media, said they were notified on Feb. 26 that their position was cut. They had no prior disciplinary warnings or documented performance plans, they said.

“Honestly, it’s still very stressful,” they said. “They’ve really uprooted a lot of our lives.”

The former employee never returned to work at the Lawrence agency after Feb. 4. They were one of five who were told via email their positions were “permanently furloughed,” effective March 1, “to secure the long term stability of the care center and to sustain its mission and client services.”

The former employee said they were unpaid during the near monthlong furlough period and were unsure whether they’d still have health coverage. Feeling left in the dark, staff pressed for a meeting with the board. That meeting happened on Feb. 19, but the former employee said board members seemed overly concerned with maintaining privacy.

“We’re already in this really bad position, and we haven’t really got much support,” they said. “And they’re also like, ‘OK, also don’t talk about it.’”

The former employee said they believe trust with the community was broken and must be rebuilt.

Reflective of an ongoing issue of age inequality the former employee said they saw, the youngest people in the office were among the five let go, though they’d been there longer than others.

Bariya said when she came in, some staff — although passionate about their jobs — were opinionated to an unproductive point. She said six months without an executive director understandably created gaps in structure, oversight and direction.

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Driving forward

Bariya said herself and other “key positions” returned on Feb. 7 to catch up on reporting for reimbursements needed immediately. Bariya said the center became “fully operational” again on Feb. 17. 

When all staff were furloughed, one person was taking the incoming calls to the center’s 24/7 hotline, which the former employee called “unheard of.”

Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence volunteers filled in throughout the situation. Bariya said the hotline is now staffed with three employed advocates and more than five trained volunteers.

The Care Center is accustomed to a small team, but cutting five employees left a void. Their positions included director of therapy, a prevention education specialist and three advocates. Advocates support victims and survivors, from accompanying them to court to serving as college campus liaisons. Additionally, Bariya said two more employees later resigned.

There are currently six full-time staff members, not including volunteers. Two months after the initial furlough, the center announced it was hiring for three positions, including the prevention position previously cut. Bariya said the center is currently interviewing for those and plans to add three more job postings after they’re filled.

There’s a long waitlist right now for counseling because the center is operating with one counselor instead of two, Bariya said. Therapy and support groups, and all other services at the center, are free. The center will refer clients who aren’t in immediate crises to the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center. 

Despite a tumultuous start, Bariya said grant reporting has since improved significantly. She said she sees a path forward in Lawrence as sexual violence and intimate partner violence remain critical public health issues. The center has stood for more than 50 years.

“I think we have the support of our community and our funders to be able to stand here for many more years to come for our clients and I see us moving,” Bariya said. “I don’t see any reason why we stop, unless abruptly all funding gets stopped. That’s the only reason that we will not do the work that we’re doing.”

Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.

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