Street roots., March 14, 2014, Page 12, Image 12

Street roots
March 14, 2014
Home safe home: Why abuse often leads to homelessness
BY KERRY NAUGHTON
shelter, safety planning, counseling, medical
accompaniment, and legal advocacy. Each
year, thousands of Oregon survivors and
survivor called our 24-hour crisis line
their children get on the path to safety and
asking for emergency shelter. She
was fleteing from her abuser, who had stability because they can access this vital *
support.
found her at her sister’s house and
assaulted her so badly she ended up in the Unfortunately, each year there are still '
thousands of requests for services that
hospital. “Unfortunately, we have no shelter
cannot be met due to funding shortages.
space available, and she
Domestic violence shelters in Oregon are
has nowhere to go.”
almost always full to capacity. According to
These harrowing
the ,2013 Domestic Violence Counts.Oregon
words came from a x <
Summary, on just one day in September
domestic violence
service provider who was 2013, survivors made 210 requests for safe
shelter that couldn’t be met because of a
trying to help a survivor
lack of funding. That equals almost nine
of domestic violence find
unmet requests every hour. •
, v her b,est option to safely
When shelter beds and motel vouchers
leave her abusive partner.
are unavailable, domestic violence service
For so many survivors like the woman
providers work with survivors to come up
mentioned above, the best available options
may be deciding whether it’s safer to stay in with the safest option possible. In
Multnomah County, some domestic and
the abusive relationship or «become
sexual violence advocates have had no
homeless.
choice but to recommend that survivors and
The dynamics of domestic violence make
their children, ride the MAX light rail all
it clear why violence against women is a
night or sleep at the airport. Programs in
primary cause of homelessness. Often,
rural communities face similar challenges—
abusive partners will isolate survivors from
not only tp provide enough safe emergency
family and friends, leaving the survivor few
shelter, but also to find resources to
resources for support. An abusive partner
transport the survivo’r away from her
often knows, or can easily find out, where
abuser and Out of danger. While domestic
the survivor’s loved ones live, making
violence programs don’t always know what
friends’ and families’ homes unsafe places
decisions a survivor makes when services
to stay. The abusive partner often controls
aren’t available, many survivors tell
money and resources within .the home, so a
survivor may not have access to her bank
programs what decisions they’ll make. The
account or her ID. Without these resources, 2013 Domestic Violence CountsOregon
it can be extremely difficult for a survivor to Summary found that due to lack of housing,
rent a new apartment or to even rent a
many domestic violence programs report
motel room for the night. For survivors____ that survivors are forced to return to their
living at poverty levels already, the situation, abuser, become homeless, or that the
is even more dire.
families are forced to live in their cars.
Thankfully, Oregon has a strong network
Fortunately, this grim situation has
of domestic and sexual violence services
become a bit brighter thanks to smart
that help people experiencing violence find
budget decisions made during the 2014
safety and rebuild their lives through
legislative session. Legislators decided to
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
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SAFETY and
■JUSTICE
Kerry Naughton is
the director o f the
Crime Survivors'
Program fo r the
Partnership fo r Safety
an d Justice. PSJ is a
statewide, non-profit
advocacy
organization
dedicated to m aking
Oregon’s approach to
crime a n d public
safety more effective
a n d just.
invent additional funding intorihe
Emergency Housing Account and State
Homeless Assistance Program, which
provide short-term assistance to help
prevent or end homelessness. This vital
funding dan be used by counties to help ;
people who are fleeing domestic violence
quickly enter safe, stable housing. Because
of this funding increase, 1,300 Oregonians/
many of whom are survivors of domestic or
sexual violence, will
have a safe place to
stay. -
The 2013 Domestic Violence
These types of
services are essential Coaats Oregon Summary
for survivors of
found that due to lack of
domestic and sexual
honsihf, i many domestic
violence to begin
violence
programs report
rebuilding their lives.
that
survivors
are tercedt to
A domestic violence
retnrn
to,
their
abuses
program in
Multnomah County
become homeless^ ©r that tlie
recently evaluated the
families are- forced to live In
effectiveness of safe
housing and domestic their cars.«
violence support in
helping survivors find
and maintain safety,
and stability, The SHARE study found a
substantial increase in survivor^’ safety
after accessing services: prior to receiving |
services,,85 percent of women were
assessed to be in extreme or severe danger,
but after receiving services, less thari 10
percent were reported to be in extreme or
severe danger. At 18 months after receiving
assistance, 82 percent of survivors were
living in safe, stable housing.
Partnership for Safety and Justicewas ~
honored to support the Housing Alliance’s
efforts to increase funding to prevent
homelessness during the 2014 session. We
look forward to the day when all Oregonians
have a safe place to call home.
Multnomah County Chair Canditates Forum
W hen: Tuesday, April 1st, Noon-1:30pm
W here: Eliot Chapel, First Unitarian Church, 1011 SW 12th Ave.
Moderated by Jfeny Tymchuk
Street Roots is a proud member of the International Network of
Street Papers# now more than 120 papers strong,, world wide.
M ultnomah Districts 1 and 2 Candidates forum
When: Wednesday April Í6th, 6:30-8:30 pm
W here: Kaiser Permanentes Town Hall, 3704 N interstate Ave.
Moderated hv Maxine Fitzpatrick