Domestic Violence Intervention Case Study

Intervention Strategy Since the very first emergency shelters for survivors of domestic and sexual violence opened in the United States in 1967, survivors have continued to have problems finding available and affordable housing options (History of the battered women 's movement, 2009). In the state of Virginia alone, 3,639 families were turned away due to full shelters in 2013 (Herring, 2014). Of the homeless population surveyed in January 2015 in the city of Richmond, Virginia, 43% reported experiencing domestic violence in the last year (Ackermann, 2015). These statistics speak to not only the prevalence of domestic violence, but also the widespread homelessness that can result when survivors cannot find safe, affordable housing. If

In the very basics, I propose (once those inputs are acquired) that we ask local landlords to designate just a few apartments or rooms in their complexes for use by future survivors. After survivors are housed, we will supply them with 3-6 months full rent and utilities to help stabilize their new living situation and to give them time to find a job, if they need one. Landlords will be greatly encouraged to employ some of these survivors (based on their skill level) as maintenance or reception help while survivors continue to look for better employment. Having these jobs readily available for survivors will help decrease their stress if they are reaching the end of their subsidized rent, but have not yet found a stable job. Additionally, after the 3-6 months subsidized rent, survivors will be offered the options of paying for full rent on a sliding scale or gradually weaning off of supported rent over the course of another 6 months. If this program were created, survivors could immediately expect more safety, privacy, autonomy, and reduced stress (Figure 1). Over many years, this program may even decrease the number of homeless survivors in the city of Richmond, Virginia (Figure 1). Such a large project would require the