Adapted from WAA's 2011 Annual Report.

Mounting Turn-aways

Women Against Abuse operates the only emergency shelter in Philadelphia for domestic violence. WAA’s shelter operates at near 100% occupancy throughout the year. As a result, hotline counselors for the Philadelphia Domestic Violence Hotline (which coordinates the intake process for the shelter) are frequently forced to turn victims away due to lack of beds.

As reported in a City Paper article (“Trend of Disbelief” by Holly Otterbein), WAA’s emergency shelter reported alarming increases in the demand for shelter through the hotline. Turn-aways represent the number of requests for shelter made to the hotline that could not be accommodated due to full occupancy at WAA’s shelter.

Counselors survey capacity and ensure to the best of their ability that all requests for shelter are accommodated. When the shelter is full, counselors work with shelters throughout the city to help victims find safety.
 

Calls for Help

In fiscal year 2011, 9,515 individuals called the Philadelphia Domestic Violence Hotline for assistance with domestic violence issues. In 2010, more than 115,000 individuals called the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) for help with domestic violence emergencies – representing more than 300 calls per day. To address the high demand for domestic violence services, WAA collaborated with the PPD to form an innovative collaboration with multiple city agencies to ensure that high-risk victims receive follow up support. Read more about this initiative, the Telephone Outreach Project, here.
 

Limited Space

Philadelphia has a lower number of domestic violence shelter beds in proportion to its population size relative other nearby cities, such as Washington D.C. , Baltimore and Pittsburgh.