TSA NEWS!

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October marked Domestic Violence Awareness month, a movement to raise awareness and provide education about the abuses suffered by domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence survivors. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, more than 12 million people a year experience this type of physical, sexual, emotional, economic, and psychological abuse. More than half of the women who turn to Third Street Alliance (TSA) for assistance report having been victim to domestic violence, forcing them to become unhoused.

One of our recent clients, Gabbi*, a single mother with two young children came to TSA when she was in desperate need of shelter and had nowhere else to turn to for help.

Intake:

When clients are referred to Third Street Alliance, whether it be for shelter or for re-housing services, they must first go through an intake process. Our Intake Specialist speaks to them about their situation to better understand their current circumstances and how to best help them. “I always begin a phone conversation by asking if our client is in a safe place to be able to speak about her situation, as you don’t know if the abuser could be with them while you’re on the phone” says TSA’s Intake Specialist. Unfortunately, a common challenge when working with clients who are currently victims of DV is that our service providers may not be able to easily reach them via call, text, or email, at the risk that the abuser will find out.

DV and Intimate Partner Violence is extremely traumatizing, so a priority during intake is to document everything the client communicates for other team members to refer to in order to avoid the client having to discuss their trauma more than is necessary.

“I tell clients about my own experience as a DV survivor. Through sharing my story, it is my hope that they can see first-hand that things can become better for them, just as things did for me,” relays our Intake Specialist.

Upon intake the team learned that Gabbi was running away from her abuser and that she and her children were in extreme danger. Gabbi had nowhere to go. She was no longer in contact with her family and had no safety net to help her, a common and unfortunate situation that many with abusers face.

Shelter Services:

After intake, Gabbi entered Third Street’s Shelter Services, where she and her children finally had some safety and security. Nearly half of the women and children who stay in our shelter are homeless due to fleeing from violence. According to the American Bar Association, 38% of DV victims experience homelessness at some point in their lifetime.

A challenge many clients face is not having a support system, which makes it hard to get out of any abuse situation. Even after escaping, many victims struggle accepting help moving forward as they often feel they are not worthy of it, once again an isolating affect that directly stems from abuse.

“It’s important to always be there for clients and build a trusting relationship,” says TSA’s Shelter Program Manager. “I tell them: ‘I don’t know what you’re going through, but we can navigate this process together.’”

While living in our shelter, Gabbi and her case manager identified goals and established a routine that would help her gain stability. Obtaining childcare, often times through The Learning Center at Third Street Alliance, allows clients to start working and saving money. Gabbi dedicated herself to attaining the stability she and her children needed.

Rapid Re-Housing:

The main goal during our clients’ time in the shelter is to exit into safe and stable housing as quickly as possible. TSA’s Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) program works to help make this happen by engaging local landlords willing to join our landlord network and provide affordable units by incentivizing their cooperation in the program. This allows the RRH team to move clients into housing that is sustainable. Just like with the shelter program, the majority of the clients who go through the Rapid Re-Housing program are domestic violence survivors. Sometimes clients have to be re-housed several times due to their abuser finding them.

According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, 3,102 domestic violence victims received services throughout 2023 in the state of Pennsylvania, with 1,039 of those victims being children. “One of the hardest things is the brokenness you see in the children,” says TSA’s Housing Stability Coach, “but when they see their new apartment, their faces light up – having a safe place to live is the first step towards stability.”

TSA’s Rapid Re-Housing team were able to find a suitable apartment for Gabbi and her children. After gaining employment and learning about the importance of being financially stable while in the shelter, she moved into her new home and worked toward a new chance at life free from abuse.

Providing Resources:

Our service providers make it a priority to be available as much as they can to our current and former clients. The impact of abuse is significant, and having as much support as possible can make a big difference in victims’ lives.

“It’s difficult to not take the weight of work home with you,” says TSA’s Housing Stability Specialist, “Through our line of work, we experience a lot of pain and hardship, but it is an honor to be able to help women transform their lives.”

In addition to the support given directly by TSA’s service providers, they also refer clients and their children to various resources, such as therapists, medical resources, legal resources, and more. TSA is also working in partnership with Turning Point of Lehigh Valley where once a week a Turning Point counselor is onsite to provide individual and group counseling services to our DV clients.

Witnessing Success:

Eighty-five percent of our clients exit shelter into stable housing and employed, taking the steps necessary to live more positive and fulfilling lives. A few months after leaving the shelter and being stably housed, Gabbi went on to establish her own business and took steps to reconcile with her family and loved ones. All of us at Third Street Alliance are incredibly proud of Gabbi and all of our clients for their resilience and perseverance.

You Are Not Alone:

If you are experiencing violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. Visit www.thehotline.org to learn more.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month may be only one month out of the year, but our work to support victims of DV is year round. Help support our mission through donating today!

*The name of this client has been changed to ensure privacy.

Sources:

The National Domestic Violence Hotline

The National Network to End Domestic Violence: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://nnedv.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/18th-Annual-DV-Counts-Report-Full-Report-FINAL.pdf

The American Bar Association

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