Without a home: Domestic violence leads causes of homelessness for women

Nov. 26--Domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness among women and children, according to the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

It's a wide range, but the organization says that between 22 and 57 percent of homelessness among women is caused by domestic violence. In a single day, 41,000 adults and children entered emergency shelters or transitional housing programs as they fled domestic violence in the United States.

Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland and Perry Counties knows the problem all too well.

"In the world of domestic violence, there is a similarity to the world of homelessness in that poverty, mental health issues, substance abuse, can exacerbate the situation," said Barbara Kohutiak, executive director of DVSCP.

Some victims have been evicted from their homes due to the actions of the abuser. Others have had their credit damaged by the abuser to the point that they are unable to get a place to live.

The Violence Against Women Act offers some protection on the latter point as someone who is denied housing due to a credit check can appeal the decision and let the housing authority know what happened, said Sonya Browne, shelter supervisor for DVSCP.

Browne said 95 percent of the people who come through the agency's program are looking for subsidized housing because they lost their jobs or they are reluctant to go back to a previous job because their abuser knows where they work. The victim wonders if the abuser will snap and come to her workplace, she said.

There's also a chance the employer may not be sympathetic to a victim's situation.

"You can imagine that not every employer is sympathetic to the needs of someone whose partner keeps coming into the workplace and causing disturbances," Kohutiak said.

People usually connect with DVSCP through a phone call to their hotline. At that time, they offer information about their situation that could result in the person coming to the shelter.

"In order to come into shelter, one of the requirements is that they are in imminent, immediate danger," Browne said.

Sometimes those calls are made by police responding to a domestic violence call as a result of the Lethality Assessment Program, Kohutiak said. All of the police departments in Cumberland County are trained in the protocol in which they ask a series of questions when they are called to a domestic violence incident.

"If they answer yes to certain of those questions, the police automatically call our domestic violence center," Kohutiak said.

The victim in the incident does not have to talk to center personnel.

Kohutiak said that 15 percent of the hotline's 1,282 calls last year came through this protocol.

Once the call is made, Browne said the goal is to meet with the survivor within 24 hours to assess their needs, which can include finding housing and securing or transferring public benefits. The survivor is also encouraged to participate in counseling and to be part of the support group.

"It's very beneficial for people to realize that they are not alone. Even when you're in a shelter, you can still feel like your situation is different from everybody else's," she said.

Another key goal at the shelter is to develop a safety plan. Abusers rarely come to the shelter itself, but will track their victim down in other locations. Research doesn't indicate why this happens, Kohutiak said.

One survivor, for instance, worked in a warehouse, so part of the safety plan was to have a supervisor or a colleague walk with her to her car. Protocols have also been developed with program partners and law enforcement to deal with safety issues, including stalking.

"You have to have a heightened sense of where you are and who is around you. It's a shame that somebody has to live that way," Browne said.

They may also have to discuss safety issues with the administration at their children's school to keep them safe.

"All of a sudden, you have to tell things to people that you never thought you'd have to tell them before," Browne said.

Typically, a victim stays in the shelter for 30 days, although that is not written in stone, Browne said. The timeline can vary based on the person's work toward their goals and the availability of housing vouchers.

"I'm fearful for the day when they tell me we're out of funding or there aren't any more landlords. But that's the reality of everything. It doesn't last forever," she said.

Because the Department of Housing and Urban Development has named domestic violence as a housing priority, survivors move higher on the list for subsidized housing.

Rapid re-housing, which puts people into permanent housing with a variety of supports, has been "wonderful" as it relates to women in the shelter, Browne said. Victims have been placed in housing in as little as two weeks.

As they wait for housing, the victims work with DVSCP personnel to move beyond their past.

Kohutiak remembers a support group exercise in which victims worked on envisioning the life they wanted. As they discussed the exercise, survivors mentioned not wanting to be isolated or doing things for themselves without feeling selfish. One simply said she saw hope.

"Even though we are a little jaded sometimes, we have hope in our hearts that this is something that will one day be a relic of the past," Kohutiak said.

Subscribe to Daily Headlines

https://cumberlink.com/newsletters/thank-you/#tracking-source=block&ir=true

html

subscribe

The Sentinel Newspaper

cumberlink.com

EST

Sign up!

* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.

___

(c)2018 The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pa.)

Visit The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pa.) at www.cumberlink.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.