People become homeless for all sorts of reasons. Someone loses a job and is unable to afford housing. Someone else might suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction or mental illness. But rarely do we conjure up the victims of domestic violence when we think of the homeless.
Unfortunately, there are thousands of bruised and battered women who wind up in shelters across the city after fleeing their abusers. And their children are often plunged into the shelter system along with them.
Domestic and sexual violence are leading causes of homelessness nationally, especially for women, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. Over half of homeless mothers are victims of domestic violence, according to the Coalition for the Homeless.
The statistics may be frightening, but they make sense. Scared of being found by their abusive boyfriends or husbands, victims are sometimes hesitant to stay with friends or families. And in some cases, they aren’t prepared to make it on their own.
According to a report by the New York City Coalition of Domestic Violence Residential Providers:
“Economic abuse is often a major component of domestic violence. Batterers consistently isolate their victims and prevent them from obtaining education or job skills that would allow them to become independent….they face many of the same barriers to employment as the general homeless population, such as educational and language barriers, affordable child-care and access to living-wage employment.”
In some cases, these women stay in shelters for the maximum time allotted for residents.
The New York City Coalition of Domestic Violence Residential Providers states:
“less than 20% of domestic violence shelter residents transition directly from shelter with permanent housing. Those without housing will have no other option but to go to the general homeless system where they will be required to re-qualify as homeless.”
And it’s not that easy for many of them to obtain housing on their own. Over a quarter of all New York City housing providers refused to rent or follow-up on an apartment for a domestic violence victim, according to the Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York, Inc.
So what are we doing about the problem? What should we do about it? I welcome your thoughts…
(For more information about domestic violence and homelessness in New York City, you can visit the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence.)
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