By Raquel DeHerrera
Why doesn’t she just leave? We have all heard this whether by well-meaning friends and family and even from social service providers. As advocates, we know that it is not just a simple thing, to leave one’s home, when experiencing domestic violence. We know that there are many common reasons we see limiting victims’ abilities to flee an abusive relationship (it is important to note that victims are not responsible for the violence- the question should be: “Why do abusers abuse their partner?”).
An all too reoccurring reason making leaving hard is that there is nowhere to go. Domestic violence shelters are at capacity, homeless shelters are full or are not seen as safe, rentals are hard to come by due to credit checks, income requirements, and/or the high cost of housing. It is no wonder that many advocate programs seek funding to provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, and/or supportive housing. For Tribal advocates, often the only housing available is in urban areas, leaving victims with the burden of leaving community and support. As Tribal advocates, housing is critical and is scarce. Having to work within the Tribe (Tribal Housing Authorities, Tribal Government structures) adds to this multi-tiered issue. Creating and maintaining a relationship with Tribal Housing Authorities and Government will be beneficial so that you can all work together to provide the best housing options for victims/survivors.
If you are unsure of what kind of housing you might want to provide as a Tribal Advocate program, this blog is here to break down all the types of housing so that you may decide what is best for your community.
Emergency Shelter
Often, when a person is fleeing an abusive relationship, they need safe shelter right away. Safe shelter can look like several things for a domestic violence/sexual assault/dating violence/stalking program. Some programs have a shelter. Typically, this looks like a site that can shelter victims. Victims and their families will have access to private space, a common living space with kitchen, showers, and laundry. Advocates are onsite and available. The usual length of stay is between 1-90 days (1-7 days for hotel vouchers and 30-90 days for shelter stays).
Hotel vouchers are a great resource to provide if you do not have or are not ready to create an emergency shelter, and/or your shelter is full. The length of stay is up to each program. These are often shorter stays- just until room opens at shelters because of the high cost. Supportive services are still provided- such as safety planning, emergency food, etc. I have seen some Tribal Advocate Programs create a partnership with their casino hotels to be able to provide much needed shelter.
Safe houses are another option that some Native communities have utilized, especially for those living in remote areas. Safe houses are places provided by safe, trusted people, organizations, etc. It is critical that each safe house has people who are trained on domestic violence, sexual violence, dating violence, stalking and sex trafficking as well as confidentiality.
Activities of an emergency shelter program typically involves emergency services, such as safety planning, protection order filings, emergency financial assistance for food, gas, documents, etc., court accompaniment, and referrals to community resources.
Transitional Housing Programs
Transitional housing is the transition from emergency housing to more stable housing or permanent supportive housing. We know that it often takes some time for victims/survivors to recover from violence. Some survivors have not been allowed to have a job so they may be joining the workforce for the first time. This often means lower-earning jobs that will not be enough to pay for rent. Many are rebuilding relationships that were harmed, so support systems are limited. If survivors have criminal histories, the ability to find a place to rent can be limited. Permanent supportive housing, such as subsidized housing or Tribal housing, might have long waiting times until something becomes available.
Survivors will need time to recover and build a life of their own. Providing transitional housing for survivors provides supportive services (such as life skills building, job trainings, etc.) along with financial assistance; all of which is critical for finding permanent housing. The length of stay is a minimum of six months up to two years. There are three distinct types of transitional housing: Scattered site, clustered site, and communal living.
Scattered Site: Programs that offer a scattered site transitional housing program offer financial assistance to survivors. This can be subsidized so that survivors in time, will pay for their rent in full. Survivors typically hold the lease to the rental (although some programs have been the leaseholder). It is important for programs to create relationships with landlords to help get survivors into housing quickly and to help maintain the relationship while the victim/survivor is being housed there.
Clustered Site: Programs own a property with a few units of housing that they rent out to survivors. It is important to have different staff collecting rent than those who are providing supportive services.
Communal: Like a shelter, there is typically a place that provides rooms for survivors and their children. The kitchen and living spaces are shared. One thing that differentiates this from a shelter is the length of stay. The program typically owns this building.
Some activities a transitional housing program provides are life skills trainings, financial literacy courses, job trainings, resumé building, interview assistance, safety planning (immediate and long term), education and support groups, financial assistance that includes rental application fees, college application fees, clothes for job interviews, and utility set-up or assistance. Of course, rental assistance is provided, if utilizing a scattered site, or subsidized for a clustered site/communal.
Permanent Supportive Housing
Permanent supportive housing is long term housing for survivors- there is no length of stay. Some activities look like long term safety planning, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, education groups, and support groups.
Some programs may find permanent housing in Tribal communities through Tribal Housing Authorities. There are Tribal Housing grants through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The tribe would be the grantee, not the advocate program.
Important Things to Know
For Office on Violence Against Women grantees, it is important to know that all services are voluntary. That means victims/survivors are not required to access services provided. Often transitional housing programs provide financial literacy, life skills training, and education groups for victims and survivors which are optional services that participants can access when available.
Also, for housing programs, it is typical to provide supportive services even after the length of stay has been met. This is time for the household to stabilize after they have left transitional housing program. Typically, the services last between 1- 6 months.
Final Thoughts
Housing is a critical need for many survivors. The lack of housing increases the risk of returning to an abuser or causes chronic homelessness. It is hard to recover from violence without a safe place to stay. As advocates providing housing, it is important that we provide holistic services so that survivors can recover safely from violence. And as always, safety planning is done at every stage of housing. For Tribal Advocate Programs, being able to offer housing on Tribal land is important (although there are some programs who have started housing out of the community can be ideal for some survivors). It is best to provide many options so that survivors can choose what will work best for them.
Type of Housing | Length of Stay | Makeup | Activities |
Emergency Shelter | 1-90 Days | Shelter, hotel vouchers, safe houses | Emergency financial assistance (food, gas, fees for documentation), safety planning, protection order filings, medical accompaniment, and referrals to community resources. |
Transitional Housing | 6 months to 2 years | Scattered Site, Clustered Site, Communal | Life skills trainings, financial literacy, job searches and resume building, goal making, rental assistance, application fees, deposits, safety planning, education, and support groups. |
Permanent Supportive Housing | No limit- permanent | Subsidized housing, independent rentals, home ownership | If any supportive services are provided: Education and support groups, mental health services, substance abuse services, and long-term safety planning. |
This project is supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-21-GK-02228-TRIB awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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