U Maryland Baltimore Shutters Crime Victim Services Center

The University of Maryland, Baltimore, has closed its ROAR Center, which provided victims of violent crimes with counseling, legal help and other services, The Daily Record reported. All seven staff members will be laid off by the end of the fiscal year after completing various assignments at home. 

The university shuttered the ROAR Center—which stands for Rebuild, Overcome And Rise—for “a lot of reasons,” a UMB spokesperson told the Record, but “financial considerations are certainly a part of it.”

“The bottom line is—and I think anybody would tell you this—we’re concerned about our community and our clients, and we have to be sure we provide the best service for them,” the spokesperson said. “It’s been determined that there’s a better way to do this, so we’re working to ensure that all of the services that we provide to our clients and our communities remain.” 

The center received its funding from the Department of Justice via the Maryland governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy, which limited eligibility for victim-services funding in recent years, according to the Record. The ROAR Center’s executive director told the Record its funding under the Victims of Crime Act was cut by a third this fiscal year. 

UMB will continue to offer some victim services, including case management and mental health services, through the EMBRACE Initiative, which is housed in the provost’s office. EMBRACE will not offer legal assistance for victims, but the university is planning to contract with a nonprofit to continue that work, the spokesperson told the Record.