Domestic Violence & Homelessness ? Ending Homelessness in ...

Domestic Violence is a major contributor to homelessness.

About 50% of cities participating in an annual study conducted by the US Conference of Mayors have identified Domestic Violence as a primary cause of homelessness. In addition, the National Coalition for the Homeless states that about 63% of homeless women have experienced Domestic Violence as adults.

With about 51 available beds, the YWCA of Nashville & Middle Tennessee is the largest Domestic Violence service provider in our state. In 2010, the YWCA served 225 women and 163 children providing a total of 15,864 bed nights.

The Key Alliance sat down with Tami Walker, YWCA?s director of domestic violence services, and talked about the issue from her perspective.

Walker said DV survivors come from all walks of life regardless of race, income or social background. The common denominator of DV survivors is that they are in an abusive relationship. Many of the DV survivors who seek shelter with the YWCA bring children.

?We serve a lot of young kids,? Walker said, adding that not many children coming to the YWCA shelters with their moms are teenagers, most of them are younger. ?The cool thing about the YWCA is that we serve boys through the age of 18. That?s very uncommon for family shelters in general.?

Walker explained that shelters housing women and children often do not allow boys older than 12.
?We realized that there was a need for moms who had older boys,? she said. ?We don?t have a lot of teenagers, but we?re really grateful that we are able to provide this space if necessary.?
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What is Domestic Violence?
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Domestic violence and emotional abuse are behaviors used by one person in an intimate relationship to control the other (www.domesticviolence.org).

Intimate Partner Violence affects 4.8 million women and 2.9 million men each year, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which uses the term Intimate Partner Violence (IVP) when talking about Domestic Violence.

Metro Police?s Domestic Violence Unit recorded 28,598 DV reports in 2010, up from 24,113 DV reports in 2009 and 17,477 in 2008. A majority of the reports are cleared and many are not pursued further after the person who makes the reports decides not to pursue it. With that in mind, while the numbers are staggering, they do not draw an accurate picture of actual DV incidences.

The YWCA hosts a local DV hotline.

?Last year, we received 3,811 crisis calls,? Walker said. ?There weren?t 3,811 people requesting shelter.?
This number includes information and referral calls. They could come from a person who is seeking shelter or from a friend or family member seeking guidance when they know of a domestic violence situation that a loved one is involved in.

?We?ve got crisis counselors there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year answering the phone,? Walker said.

When people who are in a DV situation call the crisis line, the first step is to create a safety plan.

?Not everybody is ready to leave. Not everybody wants to leave. Not everybody is going to leave ? ever,? Walker explains. ?And that?s OK. We want to support their decision and yet help them make a safety plan so they can live there as safely as possible.?
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Domestic Violence and Homelessness
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Walker said there is a clear correlation between Domestic Violence and homelessness.

?Our clients are homeless,? she said. ?They had to leave their homes because of domestic violence to look for a safe place. So everybody who comes to us is fleeing domestic violence and needs a confidential location.?

DV survivors deal with multiple, complex issues ranging from guilt and anger to stress and drug and alcohol abuse (often used as coping mechanisms while in the DV situation). Once in a safe place, it is important that a survivor is able to sleep and relax before making any further decisions.

Many victims who have sought shelter also choose to return to their abuser. The YWCA does not judge decisions but aims to help keep people safe.

The truth is that abusers are often very charming, nice people, according to Walker. At the same time, they can be prone to violent outbursts.

In 2010, the Metro Police listed 14 domestic homicides and three attempted homicides. In addition, 495 orders of protection were issued in 2010. Metro Police also recorded 817 violations of the orders of protection during the same time span.

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This entry was posted on August 31, 2011 at 2:16 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://thekeyalliance.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/domestic-violence-homelessness/

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