The Homeless Assistance Fund, Inc. awards Women Against Abuse $45,000 to help survivors!
Women Against Abuse (WAA) received a $45,000 grant from the Homeless Assistance Fund, Inc. (HAFI) to help women and children survivors of domestic violence ease into long-term affordable housing after months, sometimes years, of homelessness.
This grant will help 20 women and their children who are ready to move into safe housing overcome initial financial hurdles, specifically meeting the cost of security deposits, first and last month’s rent, and major household furnishings.
Women and children arrive at WAA’s safe haven — Philadelphia’s only shelter dedicated to the needs of survivors of domestic violence — to escape abuse, often with less than two suitcases and without basic personal items, such as birth certificates, needed to rebuild their lives. Many residents have extensive histories of unstable housing, income and employment as a result of domestic violence. Survivors often have to take extreme measures to keep themselves and their children safe, including moving into new neighborhoods, changing their jobs, and transferring their children to new schools.
Women Against Abuse case managers, behavioral therapists and a housing specialist work intensively with residents to overcome these obstacles and explore all options for safe housing. WAA’s Safe at Home Program provides continued support for survivors in their new communities, helping them transition and develop skills for self-sufficiency, while maintaining an active safety plan. Because of the Safe at Home program, survivors are able to receive intensive support for up to 24 months during a hectic period when they are adjusting to living on their own for the first time in years, often times in neighborhoods they’ve never stepped foot in before. HAFI support will ensure that 20 families in WAA’s Safe at Home Program can successfully transition into safe neighborhoods. Last year, WAA’s Safe at Home Program worked with 57 families in various Philadelphia neighborhoods.
