Working with Underserved or Marginalized Survivors

The District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH) is a large, community-based organization located in Washington, D.C. It aims to provide services that promote self-determination, autonomy and safety for all survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual assault, sex trafficking, same-sex IPV, and homelessness. DASH also engages in systems advocacy to increase survivors’ safe housing options throughout the housing continuum. DASH uses low-barrier, voluntary, trauma-informed approaches to service delivery in order to enact their core beliefs:integrity, sovereignty, empowerment, accountability, partnerships, compassion, and re-centering. In 2013, evaluators from Michigan State University’s Research Consortium on Gender Based Violence collaborated with DASH to implement a process and outcome evaluation of DASH's program model. This document summarizes their findings.

WSCADV's Domestic Violence Housing First (DVHF) program was designed to eliminate housing as a reason for survivors to stay in abusive relationships by providing flexible advocacy. This approach gave survivors of domestic violence the ability to establish a home and the freedom to choose how best to rebuild their lives. Permanent housing was the beginning of their new journey. The first phase of the DVHF program began with a cohort of four domestic violence agencies. The second phase, known as Cohort 2, expanded the program to nine additional agencies. Cohort 2 agencies served survivors with higher barriers to housing, including those living in rural, tribal, immigrant, and culturally specific communities.

Third in a series of papers published by the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Volunteers of America Home Free Program in Portland, OR. This paper focuses on helping organizations think about their role in providing housing stability services to DV survivors.

This presentation discusses implementation of a housing first approach within a domestic violence program, including elements and approaches, effectiveness with wide range of survivors, steps to development and the change process within the culture of the agency.

DASH was established in response to the shortage of basic housing services for survivors in the District of Columbia. This report chronicles the progress achieved over a fine-year period in DASH's primary goals: 1. Increase the supply of safe emergency, transitional, and supportive permanent housing for all domestic violence survivors and their children; 2. Build the capacity of all existing housing programs for women in the District, to be safe housing programs for survivors; and 3. Provide domestic violence training to staff at nonresidential programs serving diverse and specific populations.

The National Housing Law Project provides webinars and trainings on a variety of topics relevant to programs working to provide safe housing for survivors. This link allows access to recorded versions and powerpoint slides of trainings on housing rights and protections for survivors, VAWA 2013 housing provisions, subsidized housing, credit and housing access, and many more.

The right to adequate housing is clearly recognized in international human rights law, yet millions of people worldwide are homeless, live in unsafe conditions, or face housing instability. A gender analysis indicates that women are particularly affected by these issues. This publication provides an overview of the meaning, intent and implications of the human right to adequate housing, and illustrates de jure and de facto obstacles to women worldwide enjoying this right effectively.

Abuse in later life victims may benefit from services offered by domestic violence and sexual assault programs, such as crisis lines, emergency shelter, transitional housing, support groups, peer support, and legal and economic advocacy. This report will help in the assessment of existing services and offer guidance to enhance response to older victims. The document contains links to videos of subject matter experts discussing key concepts.

In 2015, the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL) and Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) hosted a listening session with representatives from tribal governments and service providers and those that work closely with tribes, tribal domestic violence coalitions and federal responders. The gathering was an opportunity for Native people to inform the field about what abuse in later life looks like in tribal communities and how to address it. This report contains potential strategies, additional resources, and tools to enhance conversation and planning.

This Population Policy Brief focuses on the victimization, costs of abuse and barriers to safety and recovery that older survivors experience. The Office of Violence Against Women defines older survivors as those over 50 years of age. This recognizes that older adults, who are largely past their reproductive years but are too young for services available to seniors, are particularly vulnerable due to a lack of programs and supports targeting this population. Include discussion of strategies and solutions.

Seventy-seven million baby boomers are aging and people 85 and older, the fastest growing segment of the population, are disproportionately women. These demographic trends have significant implications for victimization, safety, suffering, health, and well-being of tens of millions of older Americans. Through advocacy and education, the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL) works everyday to improve victim safety, increase abuser accountability, expand coordinated community response, and ultimately, put an end to abuse in later life.

This infographic portrays the link between sexual violence and homelessness among youth. It is a companion piece to Linking the Roads: Working with Youth Who Experience Homelessness and Sexual Violence. 

This guide focuses on adapting advocacy skills to help young people who experience homelessness and sexual violence build resiliency and lessen their traumas. It has three aims: (a) to provide an overview for the intersections between identity, trauma experiences, and resiliency among youth who are homeless; (b) to highlight core skills and techniques for advocates; and (c) to discuss how to tailor these skills in order to improve services for youth who identify as LGBTQ.

Severe family conflict, abuse, neglect, and abandonment all contribute to family displacement and homelessness for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/ questioning (LGBTQ) youth in America. This issue brief offers an overview of research and offers information about best practices.

Between 3 percent and 5 percent of the U.S. population identifies as lesbian, gay or bisexual, yet research suggests that between 20 percent and 40 percent of all homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). This reality prompted the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (the Task Force), in collaboration with the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), to produce this publication. Through a comprehensive review of the available academic research and professional literature, the question as to why so many LGBT youth are becoming and remaining homeless is addressed. This paper also reports on the harassment and violence that many of these youth experience in the shelter system and summarizes research on critical problems affecting them, including mental health issues, substance abuse and risky sexual behavior. The federal government’s response to youth homelessness is analyzed, including the specific impact on LGBT homeless youth of increased federal funding for faith-based service providers. Five social service agencies detail model programs designed to improve service delivery to LGBT homeless youth.

This edition of WCSAP's Research and Advocacy Digest is devoted to homeless and runaway youth. Topics include their exposure to violence while living on the streets, sexual victimization, antecedents to running away from home, challenges faced by LGBTQ homeless youth, and resilience.

This document reports the planning phase-related findings and recommendations of HUD’s LGBTQ Youth Homelessness Prevention Initiative (“initiative”). The findings illustrate that, while challenging, community-wide planning to address LGBTQ youth homelessness is possible with buy-in, resources, and a collective willingness to invest time in a planning process. The recommendations are intended to inform replication of similar LGBTQ youth homelessness prevention planning in communities nationwide.

This report features the work of Asha Family Services, Inc., (Asha), a domestic abuse program in Wisconsin specifically designed to serve the needs of African Americans. Asha is governed by people of color committed to providing effective, comprehensive intervention services and prevention efforts to persons and families affected by violence in their homes. Guided by the notion that the most effective methods for increasing the safety and self-determination of women of color are grounded in the social, political and economic realities of their community, Asha has been in the national forefront of supporting and promoting culturally-responsive strategies.

This report is based on a series of listening sessions in which African American women expressed their views on services for victims and survivors of domestic violence. The project focused on developing and improving the delivery of culturally competent domestic violence services in underserved low-income communities of color, particularly African American communities.

Provides a compilation of tools and resources developed specifically by Latin@s and for Latin@s as well as culturally adapted materials (not simply translations) to address domestic violence in Latin@ communities.

In an effort to improve services for Latino/Hispanic children and families who have experienced trauma, the Chadwick Center for Children and Families in San Diego, California, has coordinated a national effort to create Adaptation Guidelines for Serving Latino Children and Families Affected by Trauma as part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), with funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Information on ways in which domestic violence may look different in API families and communities.

This report answers some preliminary questions about API domestic violence interventions and presents a map for further exploration.

Strategies for culturally competent intervention and advocacy in organizations and systems.

Racial microaggressions are often unintentional and subtle forms of racism that manifest in interpersonal communications, behaviors, or environments. The purpose of this study was to explore the presence of racial micro aggressions within domestic violence shelters and to understand how women respond to them.

This investigation and report utilized civil rights testing to evaluate whether white and African American female testers posing as having similar criminal backgrounds were treated differently on the basis of race by local housing providers. The investigation also gathered information about certain criminal records screening policies and procedures local housing providers have in place.

In part 1 of this podcast, Jeff Olivet and Marc Dones from the Center 4 Social Innovation tackle the complexities and paradoxes of race as it relates to homelessness.

In part 2 of this podcast, Jeff Olivet and Marc Dones from the Center 4 Social Innovation discuss potential solutions for addressing racism and homelessness.

People of color are dramatically more likely than White people to experience homelessness in the United States. In September 2016, the Center for Social Innovation launched SPARC (Supporting Partnerships for Anti-Racist Communities) to understand and respond to racial inequities in homelessness. This report presents phase one finding from an ambitious mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) study documenting high rates of homeless among people of color and beginning to map their pathways into and barriers to exit from homelessness.

The Youth of Color Needs Assessment examines the overrepresentation of youth of color among homeless and unstably housed young people in King County, WA. In collaboration with the King County Comprehensive Plan to End Youth and Young Adult Homelessness, this qualitative research project used a participatory, community-based approach to conduct focus groups with homeless youth of color (13-24) across the county. The Needs Assessment lifted and centered youth of color voices to clarify their unique experiences, strengths, and needs. The report highlights opportunities and barriers for the county’s ongoing efforts to address homelessness among youth of color. Based on these findings, the report provides recommendations for stakeholders throughout the region to strengthen available resources and continue building capacity to address and prevent disproportionate rates of homelessness for youth of color in King County.

This research adds new insights about the housing search process that renters undertake, and how this process differs by race and ethnicity. By combining robust survey data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), the American Housing Survey (AHS), and the Chicago Area Study (CAS), and original data collection from a convenience sample of 135 recent movers and 351 current searchers from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, the study provides the most comprehensive picture to date about the rental housing search process.

A January 2015 report released by the Vera Institute of Justice describes how DV shelters often lack language and cultural competencies necessary for serving Deaf survivors. This article summarizes the issue confronting Deaf survivors specifically, and describes several pathways toward improving access to domestic violence resources for Deaf survivors discussed in Vera report.

This tool is to be used by sexual assault and domestic violence programs to review their programs and services to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access and an equal opportunity to participate. Accessibility includes removing not only physical barriers to participation, but also cultural and attitudinal barriers. Many of the suggestions about policies and communication are best practices, and some are required by law. This tool is designed to be used with an accompanying Accessibility Guide. Links to both the Guide and the Tool can be found below.

The accessibility Responsiveness Tool provides a framework for domestic violence, sexual violence, and disability service organizations to think about the “when, where, what, and how” of providing inclusive, accessible, trauma-informed, and responsive services. These services for survivors with disabilities reach far beyond the accommodations required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. First, this tool addresses inclusiveness, accessibility, trauma-informed principles, and responsiveness by illustrating how policies and services are intertwined. Second, it addresses an agency’s day-to-day practices as well as its collective mindset and culture. Lastly, this tool reinforces collaborative partnerships which are essential to improving services for survivors with disabilities.

Using performance indicators, this resource relies on Vera’s Center on Victimization and Safety’s years of experience at the intersection of violence and disability to help practitioners—from disability organizations, domestic violence programs, rape crisis centers, and dual agencies—measure their organizations’ capacity to serve survivors with disabilities against field standards. The indicators help practitioners track progress towards specific goals and refine their capacity-building efforts to better meet those goals over time. They also draw upon data and resources that organizations typically have access to and provide step-by-step information on implementation, including how to collect, analyze, and interpret their data.

Survivors who have disabilities may face barriers to admission or continued occupancy due to their disability. To allow a survivor with a disability the equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, the survivor may seek a reasonable accommodation, which is a change in a rule, policy or practice. These webinar slides and accompanying fact sheets address common housing issues that survivors with disabilities face, housing rights and protections available for disabled survivors and how laws regarding reasonable accommodation may be used to advocate for disabled survivors housing needs.

This report looks at the state of housing for people with disabilities with the intent to provide recommendations that can improve housing opportunities. The research contained in this report provides a comprehensive overview of the state of housing in the 21st century and answers to seven important questions about the current housing needs and options for people with disabilities living in the United States.

This document describes intimate partner violence (IPV) in immigrant and refugee communities in the United States. IPV is a widespread, costly, and complex social problem nationwide, with serious health and safety implications. When IPV occurs in immigrant and refugee communities, additional challenges and complexities make it especially difficult to address. This paper examines the issue from a variety of standpoints, including the legal rights and practical challenges facing immigrant and refugee victims of violence, the ways systems are responding, and the promising practices that offer hope for these survivors.

This report is a collective construction of knowledge in which we articulate the wisdom of a group of survivors of gender-based violence from a community-based organization based on their own experiences along with the methodological knowledge of an academic research team. It is our intention to recognize the capacity and profound power of community-based groups’ knowledge creation, as well as to highlight our commitment to investigations that are not extractive of the wisdom of communities from the global majority through participatory research methods. Our collaboration is between Madre Tierra, a Latinx community-based organization that provides supportive services to survivors of gender-based violence in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC, and the Linguistic Justice Division within the Research Consortium on Gender-based Violence at Michigan State University.

Este informe es una construcción colectiva de conocimiento en la que articulamos la sabiduría de un grupo de mujeres sobrevivientes de violencia de género de una organización de base comunitaria desde sus propias vivencias junto con los conocimientos metodológicos de un equipo de investigación académico. Es nuestra intención reconocer la capacidad y el poder profundo de los grupos comunitarios de crear conocimiento, como también resaltar nuestro compromiso con estudios de investigación que no son extractivistas del conocimiento y el saber de las comunidades de la mayoría global a través de procesos de investigación participativa. Nuestra colaboración es entre Madre Tierra, una organización Latina de base comunitaria que provee servicios de apoyo a sobrevivientes de violencia de género en Virginia, Maryland y Washington DC y la División de Justicia Lingüística del Consorcio de Investigación en Violencia de Género de la Universidad Estatal de Michigan.

This is the English translation of the "Viviendo Con Dignidad: Las Experiencias de Sobrevivientes Latinas Inmigrantes" infograph. The infograph identifies lessons learned from the community-based participatory investigation. This study included a research team made up of academic and community members. All data collection, analytic, and interpretation procedures were conducted in Spanish. They have been translated into English. 

Lecciones aprendidas de una investigación participativa de base comunitaria. El equipo de investigación fue formado por personas de una organización de base comunitaria y otras personas de una institución académica.Todos los procedimientos del estudio, incluyendo la recopilación de datos, análisis e interpretación de datos se realizaron en español.

This infograph highlights the lessons learned from the community-based participatory research study Viviendo Con Dignidad: Las Experiencias de Sobrevivientes Latinas Inmigrantes" (Translation: Living with Dignity: Lived Experiences of Latina Immigrant Survivors). The research team was made up of people from community-based organizations and others from academic institutions. All study procedures, including data collection, data analysis, and interpretation were conducted in Spanish. The study and infograph were then translated into English. 

Creative and dedicated sexual and domestic violence programs and advocates have always found ways to improve our work toward safety, healing, and justice for those harmed by violence, and to end and prevent violence at home and in our communities. If we invest in a comprehensive, proactive approach to providing assistance for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP), all survivors will have greater access to critical services and greater success in addressing the violence in their lives. This toolkit provides resources and support to build language access as a core service for survivors with LEP.

The National Housing Law Project created this information packet for programs serving limited English proficient (LEP) survivors of domestic or sexual violence, dating violence, or stalking who are seeking to access or maintain federally-assisted housing. This packet gives an overview of the federal housing rights of LEP individuals and discusses how these protections apply to survivors.

This presentation discusses language access in the context of domestic violence. Includes a review of protections for limited English proficient (LEP) survivors who reside in federally subsidized housing. Also discusses cases and settlements and outlines best practices.

Ensuring meaningful access to services is critical to protecting the life or safety of Survivors with limited English proficiency (LEP). In this document, Casa de Esperanza provides answers to frequently asked questions about the rights of access to services for LEP individuals.

If your organization receives federal funds, either directly or through the state, your agency is required to develop a language access plan. This tipsheet can help walk your organization through the process of developing such a plan, and provides links to further resources.

This section of the HUD Exchange establishes a central clearinghouse of resources for the LGBT community, including information on and links to HUD's Equal Access Rule and program guidance, a toolkit on supporting transgender-inclusive projects, information on HUD's initiative for the community-wide prevention of LGBT youth homelessness, and links to LGBTQ resources and research reports.

This YouTube webinar is a training on HUD's final rule, Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (also know as the HUD LGBT Rule) implemented in 2012. The webinar includes an overview of the final rule provisions, examples and analysis of possible rule violations, and information on where someone would go for assistance if the rule is being violated.

This self-assessment is a spreadsheet that projects can use to figure out their top priorities for improving policies and procedures as regards implementation of the Equal Access Rule on transgender status and gender expression. Projects can assess their own inclusivity through answering a series of questions. The tool generates the top three action steps based on those responses. Users can re-assess their performance periodically to continue operational improvement.

These exercises incorporate best practices to assist project frontline staff and management in fostering an inclusive shelter community regardless of participants' gender expression or status as transgender. Includes scenarios, discussion points, and ideas for intervening.

Individuals and families seeking services from HUD funded homeless projects have nowhere else to go. Too many LGBT youth and adults meet this standard and have nowhere to turn other than a HUD funded project. Acknowledging their need for assistance and seeking help is often its own struggle for those who have sacrificed much simply to recognize themselves. Transgender individuals in particular are impacted by violence and discrimination in ways that both contribute to their homelessness and keep them from accessing necessary shelter and services. HUD funds welcoming and inclusive housing programs open to all eligible individuals; the Equal Access Rule and follow-up guidance ensure that local projects know how to implement and enforce this requirement. These training materials provide CoCs and projects with the framework to create welcoming and inclusive projects for transgender and gender non-conforming people.

This presentation addresses how DV programs can work to increase their knowledge around Trans inclusivity. It helps organizations examine policies, capacity to work with trans/gender nonconforming survivors, and how to solve challenges shelters may see around physical logistics of housing.

Transgender and non-transgender survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) share the same vital need for safety, shelter, and support services. All trans individuals who have experienced IPV deserve and are entitled to the same level of support and services that other trans and non-trans individuals can access. Although the majority of barriers all gender vectors of trans people face are similar, there are some challenges to shelter access, system structures, and trans-specific issues that are unique to individuals on the trans-feminine spectrum, trans-masculine spectrum, and to those who are androgynous or gender non-conforming. To better discuss the unique challenges and solutions for these populations, this document focuses on trans women and references separate tandem documents that concentrate on trans men and gender non- conforming individuals who are seeking shelter. The recommendations within this document apply to the majority of trans women, however, there may be unique variables for immigrant1 and non-English-speaking trans women, as well as for trans women of color, who may have additional layers of intersectional barriers. 

This article summarizes and analyzes the body of literature from the mainstream DV movement and discusses its insights, models, and cautionary tales in terms of their applicability to LGBTQ IPV. Includes discussion of DV shelter models and new low-barrier approaches such as DV Housing First.

Despite the prevalence of LGBTQ partner abuse, there are only a handful of programs in the country specifically serving LGBTQ survivors. The need for more inclusive services for LGBTQ survivors is great in all areas, but shelter and housing are especially wanting. Many LGBTQ victims become homeless due to the abuse, and there are significant gaps in the critical continuum of services, including adequate shelter and transitional living programs for LGBTQ survivors. This guide is intended to assist programs to increase their capacity to serve LGBTQ survivors.

HUD's Office of Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity (FHEO) is pleased to sponsor the release of the LGBTQIA+ Fair Housing Toolkit. This toolkit includes an overview of LGBTQIA+ protections, a summary of HUD's Equal Access Rule, and a description of protected housing rights. It also includes appropriate definitions when discussing sexual orientation and gender identity, how housing providers can prevent housing discrimination, as well as how and when one can report housing discrimination. 

The intent of this training is to provide trauma-informed best practices related to new guidelines presented by Office of Civil Rights and VAWA 2013. Discusses provisions for sex-segregated and sex-specific services, comparable services, and provides program examples of shelters housing male as well as female survivors.

More and more domestic violence shelters are considering expanding to serve all genders of survivors. Some shelters have housed male, transgender, and non-binary residents alongside non-trans women for years. How have they fared? What barriers did they have to overcome? What advice do they have for other shelters considering gender integration? This unique publication presents the results of in-depth interviews with 20 gender-integrated shelters, providing a thought-provoking roadmap for shelters wanting to serve all those in need.

Comprehensive collection of resources addressing various forms of gender-based violence and intersecting challenges impacting Native American and Alaskan Village communities.

In 2015, the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL) and Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) hosted a listening session with representatives from tribal governments and service providers and those that work closely with tribes, tribal domestic violence coalitions and federal responders. The gathering was an opportunity for Native people to inform the field about what abuse in later life looks like in tribal communities and how to address it. This report contains potential strategies, additional resources, and tools to enhance conversation and planning.

The social, political, and cultural instability during the colonial era and American Revolution involved ongoing warfare, shifting allegiances among Indigenous and European nations, enslavement, and relocation of Indigenous people. Indigenous women and girls were particularly impacted “...as females during wartime, colonial expansion, and slavery... [are] especially vulnerable to the sexual violence that so often accompanied conquest...” (Miles, 2008).

This paper seeks to illustrate the impact of human trafficking on Native women and girls in our times, with particular attention to the historical context in the United States and the interconnection between trafficking and housing instability.

The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center and the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence convened a meeting in Phoenix, Arizona on June 4-5, 2019 to establish a National Workgroup on Safe Housing for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Survivors of Gender-Based Violence. The goal of this workgroup was to bring together experts from Indian country who work in the fields of gender-based violence and housing to develop policy and create concrete recommendations for technical assistance, resources and other supports for the sole purpose of increasing the availability of safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable housing for AI/AN survivors of gender-based violence.

This report details themes that emerged from the convening, lessons learned, and recommendations for increasing access to safe and affordable housing for AI/AN survivors of gender-based violence.

Produced by the Open Doors Project of the Michigan State Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, this toolkit is aimed at helping domestic and sexual violence programs meet the challenges posed by the individual, community, and systems-level barriers faced by survivors with criminal histories. Includes a section on housing and employment barriers.

Most women reentering their communities after serving time in jail or prison are survivors of some form of trauma; many are also victims of intimate partner violence. This expansive overview of survivors' reentry issues includes discussion of how the structure of community supervision can compel survivors to remain in unsafe homes by stripping them of other viable options, how abusers often use the processes of reentry and community supervision against them, and how traditional domestic violence responses may not apply.

This study was sponsored by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and the Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES). It had two main goals: (1) To survey rural DV victims, shelter operators, advocates and other stakeholders concerning the needs of rural Arizona victims; (2) Based on this information, to suggest questions for discussion about how best to improve service delivery in Arizona’s rural areas and small towns. Most victims and advocates surveyed in this project indicated that emergency shelters retain an important role in rural and small-town Arizona – in part because relatively few other services are available at reasonable distances. However, survivors indicated that their needs tended towards practical necessities, such as housing, transportation, and help finding employment, rather than the physical protection provided by shelter. Most advocates acknowledged the value of the “rapid rehousing” approach to serving DV victims, but expressed doubts that many of their clients could succeed in such a program, especially given a general lack of affordable housing and transportation.

Trauma-Informed Care for Women Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: A Guide for Service Providers, also known as the “Trauma Guide,” was created to address the psychological and mental health needs of women veterans. The guide is also a compilation of best practices aimed at improving effectiveness in engaging female veterans. Written for service providers, the guide offers observational knowledge and concrete guidelines for modifying practices with the goal of increasing re-entry outcomes.

As state domestic violence coalitions and local domestic violence programs across the country work to create more accessible and trauma-informed shelter programs, staff and advocates have sought guidance on designing medication policies that better serve survivors who are experiencing mental health symptoms or living with mental health disabilities. This Model Medication Policy for Domestic Violence Shelters, developed in response to these requests, is intended to provide coalitions and programs with guidance on designing medication policies that reflect survivor-centered values and to help to create more accessible and trauma-informed shelter environments. It also provides guidance on drafting policies that comply with ethical and legal obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Housing Act (FHA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These three federal statutes have implications for how domestic violence shelters screen and admit survivors and how they store and handle medications.

Facts and guidance to support working knowledgeably and effectively with survivors with chemical dependency issues.

This toolkit was designed in hopes that it will be widely used for training advocates and other service providers, creating support groups for individuals coping with multi-abuse trauma issues, and educating and advocating in the community. The excerpted chapter describes how advocates and programs can support survivors seeking safety, sobriety, wellness, autonomy and justice by reducing service barriers and ending isolation for people impacted by multiple abuse issues. Policies and procedures to ensure culturally competent, appropriate, non-punitive and non-judgmental accessible services are key.

This site links the reader to a variety of resources designed to assist organizations working to build their own capacity to provide accessible, culturally relevant, and trauma-informed services for domestic violence survivors.

Agency policies supporting a substance-free environment need to be balanced with a multi-step approach that provides opportunities for survivors impacted by substance abuse. The primary goal of this model protocol is to help advocates in shelters and other community programs better meet the safety needs of all survivors impacted by their own or another’s substance use, misuse or addiction.

Leaders in rural, suburban, and urban communities across the country are grappling with the effects of a worsening opioid crisis, which may also be contributing to rates of homelessness in some communities. This brief document identifies strategies that communities, service providers, and policymakers can use to address the intersection of homelessness and the opioid crisis and highlights resources developed by federal and national partners to support such efforts.

Without healing, trauma can structure a person’s brain in a way that sets them up to be a high risk for addiction. In this webinar, Matt Bennett examines the connections between addiction and trauma, and provides a context to understand why those managing an addiction may struggle to emerge from homelessness.

Opioid use disorders (OUD) are particularly hard on homeless populations, where the prevalence of mental health conditions and substance misuse is high, and health care access is often limited. This webinar examines how resources for opioid abuse can be leveraged for people experiencing homelessness. Presenters discuss what is happening around the country to address the crisis, highlighting a successful housing program for people with OUD. There is also a discussion about advocacy and how service providers can connect with state agencies to elevate homelessness to the forefront of the opioid crisis.