Estelle Brouwer, Executive Director of Women’s Advocates, announced today that starting in October they will be launching an emergency hotel stay project that provides short-term lodging for victim-survivors of domestic violence throughout the Twin Cities for up to ten days. This gives victim-survivors who are trapped in dangerous situations time to plan for their next move, whether into a new apartment, in with a family member, or into a domestic violence shelter, which are almost always full in the Twin Cities. During their ten-day hotel stay, each victim-survivor and their family will work with a full-time advocate to plan their next move from a safe, confidential location.
The cost of the project is covered by an American Rescue Plan Act grant funded through the Minnesota Office of Justice Programs. The program is open to victim-survivors of all genders and is LGBTQ+ inclusive, as are all the services and programming available through Women’s Advocates.
“As an organization that works to break the cycle of domestic violence, Women’s Advocates is pleased to provide this hotel project as a safe and convenient option for families in need of temporary shelter to sort out what they need to do next,” said Brouwer. “We know that at the beginning of the pandemic incidents of domestic violence increased in the US and across the globe. Our experience tells us that these trends continue. Emergency shelters and other crisis response services remain stressed. By providing this short-term lodging we are providing immediate safety and resources for victim-survivors and their kids.”
October was first declared as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in 1989.
Women’s Advocates was founded in 1974 as the first shelter in the nation for victim-survivors of domestic violence. Their work creates a continuum of safety for victim-survivors. Their services include emergency shelter, violence prevention work online and in the community through outreach and education programming, and intensive housing advocacy and rental supports for victim-survivors leaving shelter through their Housing Stability program. For more information visit www.womensadvocates.org.
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