Historically, approaches to ending homelessness and those for ending IPV have operated, at best, in parallel. Despite evidence that domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness among women, youth, and families and that abuse and its impacts continue long after survivors leave relationships, very few survivor-centered housing options exist. But this is beginning to change. Ending homelessness for families and youth is now a national priority. In response to this shift, several IPV providers have developed promising models for safely and stably housing survivors while ensuring survivors have the support and empowerment necessary to move forward after abuse.
As more survivors summon the courage to seek safety, enabling service providers to implement and scale these strategies quickly is imperative. Housing is a critical unmet need for survivors. Doorways for Women and Families (Doorways) provides both homeless and IPV services, including supportive housing. For decades, Doorways has seen how survivors’ paths to safety and stability are cut short by limited alignment of resources and policies between the housing and IPV systems. Survivors face barriers to securing safe and permanent housing because of constrictive eligibility requirements, limited program options, and inflexible time limits. Survivor-informed housing practices are needed to address both homelessness and IPV beyond the emergency-shelter point of care.
Aligning policy-level leaders within the historically separate systems of Homeless Continuums of Care (CoCs) and IPV service providers has been fundamental to successful pilots (PDF). Our next step together—implementation and scaling—requires that we integrate our every resource—evidence-based strategies, systems of care, and funding—and how we measure success. In this stage, frontline staff, program leaders, and funders must align and integrate approaches along every point throughout these systems.
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