A fundamental shortcoming of the traditional "secret location" approach to sheltering battered women is that it keeps the secret for the batterer as well. And it keeps the problem of domestic violence a secret from society at large. If housing for every woman who sought shelter nationwide was provided in facilities as visible as, say, housing for college students, things would change. America would be much more willing to improve the way law enforcement, family court, social services, and its own communities respond to this epidemic. (Currently, there are so few places available that 6 of 7 women seeking shelter are turned away.) It is with hope for such change that we have undertaken our groundbreaking—literally—new approach.
Changing the service model
Creating a shelter for battered women usually means buying the biggest house you can find and putting in as many beds and as strong a set of locks as possible. But how can locking these crime victims away help them get the resources they need to build a better life? Making victims invisible does nothing to make solutions any easier to see.
By building an ultra-secure campus from the ground up that incorporates resources from nutrition education to daycare to life skill development to case management, the YWCA of Western Massachusetts is serving women seeking shelter from domestic violence in a whole new way. With the Commonwealth recording in FY 2003 that 43,000 Massachusetts women and children were exposed to reported acts of abuse or violence between family members, the need to break the domestic violence cycle is real and immediate.
Changing our facilities
Developing our state-of-the-art campus at One Clough Street in Springfield took more than a successful $7.7M capital campaign and three acts of the state legislature (although we're endlessly grateful to everyone who supported those incredible accomplishments). It took a commitment to establishing a new model for serving battered women and their children, thinking through every detail: complete ADA compliance; special furniture to support the need of families in shelter to feel unified, secure, and comforted; computerized security and surveillance that regulates and tracks the movement of shelter residents, staff, and visitors; facilities to provide services from case workers, therapists, and licensed day care professionals; computer lab, study room, and recreational space for teen children in shelter (males included!); space where children can be children; space where women can find time for themselves.
It is impossible to count all the subtle details that have been incorporated into our new facilities, and perhaps just as difficult to measure the exact difference they make to those we shelter. But we can measure some of what our Clough Street campus has enabled us to do: triple our capacity to house victims of domestic violence, and reduce our cost per bed by 30%.
Changing what's possible
We believe that it's possible to make liberty the watchword of a battered women's shelter, not secrecy. When you build facilities for children to accompany their mother into shelter, whether babies or teens, you give her liberty from a principle source of leverage batterers use to control their victims: children as emotional hostages. When you put aside secrecy, you can give a woman the liberty of her own voicemail and mailing address, making it more possible for her to look for work, permanent housing, and talk with schools. Notably, it makes it possible to serve women from the same area where the shelter is located, something that was virtually impossible in the traditional secrecy model. Taking away the secrecy of seeking shelter helps give a woman the liberty to step beyond a victim's perspective, beyond any shame or responsibility for what's happened, and into a mindset and environment where the possibility for a better life can become clear.
Even more is still possible. As great an accomplishment as it is, our Clough Street facility currently represents only Phase I in what we hope will become a complete campus, offering affordable long-term housing and other resources to help empower women and eliminate racism. We hope you will consider supporting our continued efforts; to find out how, click here.