YWCA of Greater Cincinnati
898 Walnut Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
YWCA’s Emergency Domestic Violence Shelter Services Program
Grant Application:
YWCA’s Emergency Domestic Violence Shelter Services Program (DVSP) provides survivors of domestic violence and their children with access to specialized shelter in Hamilton and Clermont Counties. Shelter services are operated 24/7, 365 days a year, with the ability to serve 81 individuals at a time – reaching capacity nearly every night. In 2020, the calls to our crisis hotline doubled.
Services are comprehensive, trauma-informed and evidence-based. These include: access to food, clothing, and personal care items; financial assistance; case management; onsite mental health therapy, referrals for legal, medical, psychological and substance abuse needs; work readiness training/adult literacy/financial education; support groups; court advocacy; children’s services; housing support; aftercare counseling; and pet protection. Through these services, survivors are able to heal from abuse, reach self-sufficiency and ensure the well-being of their children while feeling safe. Ultimately, DVSP is contributing to the positive outcomes of vulnerable children in the Greater Cincinnati community.
Goals:
DVSP’s first priority is ensuring the safety of survivors and children during potentially life-threating situations. Once emergency needs for safety have been met, DVSP assists survivors and their children by addressing basic needs, and providing effective intervention services. By providing comprehensive and trauma-informed services, DVSP empowers survivors to overcome the barriers created by abuse and move towards achieving the following goals: long-term safety, positive wellbeing and self-sufficiency.
When survivors move towards achieving the above goals, they are more likely to provide their children with a positive, healthy and financially stable living environment. When this is achieved, children are less likely to experience the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) which have the potential to significantly disrupt a child’s lifelong success. These include: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, intimate partner violence, mother treated violently, substance misuse within household, household mental illness, parental separation or divorce, and incarcerated household member. Therefore, in order to address ACES, both survivors and children entering shelter services must have access to effective intervention services.
Specific objectives as they pertain to children include the following:
• Identify ACEs for each child entering shelter services
• Identify the effects of ACEs/trauma for each children entering shelter services
• Identify the resulting cognitive, and socio-emotional needs of children in shelter services
• Develop a comprehensive case management plan for children entering and exiting shelter services
Website:
http://www.ywcacincinnati.org Amount: $30,000
Date: June 2022
