Unit 6: Domestic Violence Related Resources and Referrals

Learning Objectives

Chapter 1: Description of Services for Domestic Violence Survivors and their Families

Domestic Violence Hotlines

• Hotlines are 24-hour numbers that are staffed by trained advocates. The counselors can provide emotional support, assistance with finding emergency shelter, safety planning, and information about legal options. Survivors can call anonymously or confidentially.

• Family and friends can also call hotlines for resources and information. They might also call because they need emotional support: when someone is in an abusive relationship, it can be very emotionally - and sometimes financially - hard on the people in their lives.

• Hotlines can be resources for other service providers. The advocates can act as consultants in domestic violence cases and assist service providers with understanding how best to help a client dealing with violence or give referrals to local programs that may be of assistance.

• Although it may be helpful initially for you as a service provider to offer to contact these numbers on behalf of your client, the program staff will usually need to speak with the survivor directly in order to best assess the needs of the family or individual and to explain program requirements.

Domestic Violence Community-Based and Residential Programs

There are over 60 domestic violence (DV) programs across Massachusetts (see http://www.janedoe.org/find_help/search) and approximately 2000 across the United States. The goal of a DV program is to provide a free and safe place for survivors and their children to find emotional support and assistance with a range of needs. Some DV programs provide housing in the form of emergency shelter (typically anywhere from 1-6 months) and/or transitional living (~2 years). Not all programs provide housing; they are referred to here as community-based programs.

Community-based Domestic Violence Programs

• Non-residential programs typically provide a wide range of services, such as office-based crisis counseling, hotline counseling, support groups, legal advocacy, case management, and connection to resources and referrals. Residential programs also provide these services, but they typically limit them to current (sometimes former) residents. These services are typically free, confidential, and do not require insurance.

• Community-based programs are wonderful resources for helping people figure out whether and how they can stay safely where they are (i.e., in their homes and communities) instead of going to shelter (which is often people's very last choice given how disruptive and even traumatizing it can be). This work is called safety planning and was described in Unit 2. These programs serve survivors regardless of their relationship status and level of involvement with the abusive partner.

• Community-based DV programs are not the only source of individual counseling and support groups for survivors of domestic violence and their families. Licensed professionals such as social workers, psychologists, and mental health workers who work in private practice or in community health clinics can also be good options, as long as the person has some expertise in the complexity and dynamics of domestic violence. These settings often provide support groups in addition to individual counseling.

• The Massachusetts National Association of Social Workers offers a free therapist referral service, which includes a listing of the clinical social workers' areas of expertise. With any referral, it is hard to know whether the counselor and client will be a good match.

Domestic Violence Residential Services: Shelters and Transitional Living Programs

• DV shelters often operate differently from homeless shelters because of the safety risks to the residents. They might be in a confidential location that is only disclosed to those staying. Also, they might have rules pertaining to curfew or visitation intended to ensure the residents' safety.

• Unfortunately, domestic violence shelter beds are often unavailable. Shelters are often full (in MA, there are fewer than 200 DV shelter beds) or are unable to meet the needs of the family, which pushes people into the emergency homeless shelter system (see below). For example, some programs are not equipped to accommodate certain physical, medical, some linguistic, or dietary needs. Increasingly, however, there are specialized programs to meet these unique needs.

• If a DV shelter is unavailable or not an option for a survivor, it is important for you to brainstorm with the person another place where they may seek safety. Examples of other options include:

  • In some circumstances, the survivor may feel safe temporarily staying with family, friends, or others.

  • Some survivors might be able to afford to stay in a hotel/motel for a night or two.

• Shelter bed availability changes from day to day. Sometimes if an alternate safe place can be found for a night or two, space will open up in a shelter.

• Also, it is possible for a family or individual to seek shelter outside of the state when the shelters within Massachusetts are full. The National Hotline (1-800-799-7233) can provide a referral to a program outside of Massachusetts. In some cases, the survivor might prefer to leave the state as a way to feel safer.

Emergency Homeless Shelter System

Homeless shelters provide emergency, temporary assistance to people in need of shelter who fit the federal government’s definition of homelessness (seehttp://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/changes-in-the-hud-definition-of-homeless). In addition to federal eligibility requirements, some states impose additional requirements. In general, emergency homeless shelters fall into one of two types that often represent distinct systems: shelters for families and shelters for individuals/unaccompanied people.

Family shelters

These typically serve "any group of people that present together for assistance and identify themselves as a family." The most common configuration served by family shelters is a female head of household and her children. Family shelters provide temporary shelter in either a congregate setting or scattered site housing. Depending on the state, families can stay for several months or even years. For some families, these shelters are the first step toward obtaining a spot into a transitional living program and then in public housing.

Shelters for individuals (a.k.a. unaccompanied adults)

These shelters serve people who present alone for services. They might have children but they are not seeking shelter for those children. These differ from family shelters in that they typically provide a shelter bed for only one night at a time, meaning that individuals need to leave during the day and reapply for a bed later that day.

Overnight shelters vary in terms of whether they are segregated by gender or mixed, "dry" (i.e., must be sober while on premises) or "wet" (i.e., guests can enter the shelter under the influence but cannot actively use while in the shelter), and available to the general homeless or targeted to a specific population (e.g., veterans, unaccompanied youth, people with severe mental illness). Because overnight shelters typically are closed to guests during the day, some programs provide respite from the street in the form of meals, showers, and lockers as well as services such as case management and counseling. These programs are called "day shelters" and typically provide services only during daytime hours.

Resources for Children

The majority of DV organizations have services for children that mimic the services for adults (e.g., individual counseling). In addition, they also have specialized services targeted toward the unique needs of children who have experienced domestic violence (e.g., designated play spaces, child advocates and counselors). Child-specific trauma organizations are another great resource for children who have experienced domestic violence. It's important to connect survivors and their children to services and practitioners who understand the complexity of domestic violence.

See Chapter 2 of this unit for several excellent resources.

Specific information on visitation centers:

• Supervised visitation centers offer a safe and neutral place for non-custodial parents to have visits with their children.

• These centers can also act as a location for dual custody parents to transfer the child from one parent to the other.

  • For more information about visitation centers located in Massachusetts, please to go Mass Legal help at http://www.masslegalhelp.org/domestic-violence/supervised-visitation-centers.

  • For more general information about visitation centers as well as to locate one outside of Massachusetts, please visit the Supervised Visitation Network athttp://www.svnetwork.net/.

Hospitals and Health Centers

Many hospitals and health centers have domestic violence programs or dedicated domestic violence advocates. These programs and advocates typically offer safety planning, individual and group support, and information and referrals. They also train medical personnel on how to safely and effectively intervene with survivors.

Survivors can access these programs by contacting a hospital or health center and asking to be connected to the domestic violence services. These programs are usually free and confidential.

Participation in the program does not usually appear in the survivor's medical record, although it is recommended that the survivor ask about this to be sure.

Employee Assistance Programs

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) have also been developing expertise in working with survivors of domestic violence within the workplace. Typically, EAPs have been able to offer short-term counseling, information, and referrals to survivors. Additionally, EAPs can help with conflicts that might arise at work related to domestic violence and help a survivor develop a safety plan for the workplace.

Legal and Court Services

Police Departments

• Many police departments in Massachusetts (and around the country) have officers who specialize in DV cases as well as civilian DV advocates who are stationed in the department. The DV officer or advocate can assist the survivor with filing a police report for an incident, enforcing a restraining order, or following up on abuse incidents. In an emergency, however, a survivor should work with whichever police officer is available. After an incident, the survivor can contact the DV officer or advocate and update them on the situation. This allows for more consistent response by the police. Please note, however, that if the person using violence is a police officer, this resource may be compromised.

Courts

• Survivors can seek support and protection through the district (criminal) court system and probate (family) court system. Frequently, this takes the form of a protection order (restraining order) from the court. Protection orders are explained in more detail in Unit 5.

• Survivors of domestic violence can use the probate court to establish custody and visitation orders, and seek divorce. Some probate courts have SafePlan advocates affiliated with DV service providers. Some have "lawyers for the day" who can help self-represented litigants with forms. If possible, it is useful to have legal representation when pursuing probate court assistance. The legal system is fairly complicated to negotiate, and an attorney can provide a buffer between a survivor and an abuser.

• In most Massachusetts District Courts, there is a Victim Witness Advocate who can assist survivors with restraining orders and providing support through the prosecution of the batterer. The role of Victim Witness Advocate is discussed in more detail in Unit 5. To determine if the survivor's local court has a victim Witness Advocate and to obtain that individual's name, you can call the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance (MOVA) at 617-727-5200, which oversees and funds these positions.

Legal Assistance

• Survivors who are financially eligible may access a family law attorney through a local legal service agency. Such agencies provide free or reduced-fee legal assistance and often have attorneys who specialize in domestic violence cases.

• Some domestic violence programs provide limited legal assistance around specific matters and/or have ongoing relationships with attorneys who provide free or reduced fees.

• A resource for those living in MA is MassLegalHelp. It is available in multiple languages and can help with explaining legal proceedings or referral to a lawyer.

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Chapter 2: Contact information by Resource

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