Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness for women and children. Many women who flee their abusers have no place to go, face discrimination, and are often temporarily not able to work. The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV), founded in 1990 by survivors and their allies, is a nonprofit network of programs to assist domestic violence victims and their families. WSCADV serves these programs through research, training and technical assistance, producing educational tools, promoting domestic violence awareness, and public policy advocacy.
With the aim of eliminating housing as a reason to stay in an abusive relationship, WSCADV, in 2009, created Domestic Violence Housing First. The program focuses on helping survivors of abuse retain or access safe, permanent housing quickly—often bypassing emergency shelters. At that time, the Gates Foundation provided an initial $150,000 grant to support Domestic Violence Housing First and to help WSCADV provide technical assistance to Washington state domestic violence agencies implementing this model.
In addition, we also supported four organizations across the state in their efforts to increase access to and sustainability of permanent housing for domestic violence survivors and their children through Domestic Violence Housing First:
Working with WSCADV, these four organizations created individualized programs that not only got women and children into permanent homes quickly, but that provided long-term financial and housing stability assistance. Their programs provide tailored services based on each family’s unique needs, including such supports as transportation subsidies, career training, job-related expenses, child care, necessities for children, and temporary rental assistance.
Early results from this pilot program are extremely promising: Ninety-four percent of participants who received services for at least six months were able to find or keep permanent housing—and were still stably housed six months later.
“We are seeing that the flexible approach gives survivors the ability to establish a home and the freedom to choose how to best rebuild their lives,” said Nan Stoops, executive director of WSCADV.
Based on these successes, the foundation awarded WSCADV a second grant of $455,000 in 2011 to expand Domestic Violence Housing First and support nine additional organizations. These organizations also received three-year grants from the Gates Foundation—totaling nearly $2 million in additional funding:
WSCADV’s program demonstrates that many families can stay in their homes instead of facing shelter stays, and may offer a new pathway to the prevention of homelessness.