Intersection Between

Domestic Violence and Homelessness

Presented By

Abeer Monem, Director of ProgramsFort Bend County Women’s Center

Barbie Brashear, Executive DirectorHarris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council

Part I: Overview of DV

Training Objectives:

• Increase participant’s knowledge of domestic violence and intersection of homelessness

• Increase participant’s knowledge of risk factors for the homeless domestic violence survivor

• Define homelessness specifically DV fleeing according to statutes (VAWA, FVPSA, HUD)

TERMINOLOGY:Wife Beating/BatteringSpousal AbuseDate Rape/Dating ViolenceFamily ViolenceDomestic Violence (DV)Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

• An estimated 1.3 million women are victims • 85% of domestic violence victims are women. • Females who are 16-24 years of age are at the greatest risk• Most cases of domestic violence are never reported to the

police. • Witnessing violence between one’s parents or caretakers is

the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next.

• Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults.

• 30% to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household.

Statistics

• 196,713 Family Violence Incidents• 111 women killed by their

intimate partner• 12,213 Adults received shelter

from their abusive relationships• 15,905 children received shelter

*Texas Council on Family Violence 2009 Report on prevalence in Texas/Texas Health and Human Services Commission

Texas Statistics

EMERGENCY SHELTER

5308

HARRIS COUNTY SERVICESFrom our Domestic Violence

Partners:

NON RESIDENTAL

14,891HOTLINE

82,087PROTECTIVE

ORDERS GRANTED

1143

UCR: 40,000

Less than 400 Emergency

Shelter BEDS for Victims of Domestic

Violence in our Area

Definition of IPV-Intimate Partner

Violence

•

A pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors including:

Physical

Attacks

Sexual Attack

s

Psychological

Attacks

Economic

Coercion

by an adult or adolescent against their intimate partner.

One HitInsults Restrictin

g MoneyChronic

BatteringIntimidatio

n

• Occurs on a spectrum of presentations:

• By a current or former; married, cohabitating or dating partner

• May be of the same gender

• Varies in frequency

Children who experience childhood trauma, including witnessing incidents of domestic

violence, are at a greater risk of having serious adult health problems including tobacco use, substance abuse, obesity, cancer, heart disease, depression and a higher risk for unintended pregnancy.

•

BARRIERS TO LEAVING:

FEAR $$$$

NO WHERE TO GO

IMPACT OF

VIOLENCE

Young children and their caregivers need to be safe

Two difficult decisions:

How will she protect herself and her children from the physical dangers posed by her partner?How will she provide for her children?

Stages of Behavioral Change• Pre-contemplation

• Contemplation

• Preparation

• Action

• Maintenance

Prochaska JO, 1997

Zimmerman GL et al, 2000

He loves me and the kids.

It’s my fault.

I’m scared for me & my

kids.

Where can I go for help?

I need an escape plan.

I’m out of here!

I have my own job

I will survive.

I can support my family and found friends

to help.

SCREENING VICTIMS…Has your intimate partner ever pushed, slapped, hit or hurt you in some way? Has your intimate partner ever hurt or threatened you? Has your intimate partner ever forced you to do something you did not want to do? Is there anything that goes on at home that makes you feel afraid? Does your intimate partner prevent you from eating or sleeping, or endanger your health in other ways? Has your intimate partner ever hurt your pets or destroyed your clothing, objects in your home, or something you especially cared about? Has your intimate partner taken the children without permission, threatened to never let them see you again, or otherwise harmed them?

The Intersection of HOMELESSNESS and DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Shift Study: 292 families - 30 Months – Albany, Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse – compared ES, TS, PH93% of mothers with trauma history:

81% experienced multiple traumas.79% traumatized as children.

Approximately1 .3 Million WomenBattered annually

Approximately 1.56 million

People Homeless annually

Leading cause of Homelessness

THE OVERLAP

Housing Program obstacles“When a women is in an abusive and controlling relationship and or marriage, their lives really are not their own. In my situation I wasn’t free to make a lot of my own decisions. Once out of this environment I was out physically but not completely out emotionally … the last thing I would have needed is the very people helping me to now force or mandate that I do what they want me to do. That to me would have been very similar to the situation I had left … going from one controlling situation right into another! ... My daughter and I have many gifts in our lives and we have many challenges. I like having the freedom to make my own choices, and I believe many other women will move forward in their lives as well, with the gentle guidance verses mandated services by those who are there to help.”

How is a Survivor’s Housing Effected?

• Most Dangerous time is when she leaves

• She may be evicted due to offender’s behavior

• DV interferes with ability to access housing - bad credit, poor rental histories, safety needs

• Offenders sabotage survivor’s economic stability - trouble paying deposit, rent and utilities

• Shelter is a very temporary haven – usually 31 days or less.

• Less than 30% will succeed the first time they leave abusive homes.

Major findings include:

Ongoing residential instabilitySignificant traumatic experiencesMajor depression among mothersPhysical and emotional challenges among children

Maureen Hayes, Ph.D., Senior Researcher National Coalition for the Homelesswww.nationalhomeless.org

SHIFT StudyService and Housing

Interventions for Families in Transition:

Findings indicate that an effective response to family homelessness should include:

Housing FirstCase management to address immediate needsComprehensive assessments to target individual servicesTrauma-informed careParenting supports and skills trainingMental health servicesChild-centered services and programs to support healthy development among children

Hayes, Ph.D., Senior Researcher

SHIFT STudy:

It has been estimated that the danger to a victim

increases by 70% when she attempts to leave, as the

abuser escalates his use of violence when he begins to

lose control.

RISK Assessment

:

By identifying all types of violence that exist within the family, chances of effective

intervention are greatly increased.

The following behaviors are indicators of increased risk of

assault:

Abuser’s threat of homicide or suicide

Abuser’s fantasies of homicide or suicide

Elements of Safety Planning:

Safety Plans include thinking about safety when staying in relationships

and when leaving relationships.

• CANNOT ASSESS for RISK without also SAFETY PLANNING

• SCREENING PROCESS at INTAKE is crucial to identification

• KNOW LOCAL DV Resources and develop relationships with them

Things to Think About:

Housing:Original definition of homeless

Those who have spent more than seven consecutive nights in a shelter, car, abandoned building, public park, nonresidential building, or other non-dwelling.(1987 McKinney Act)

New Definition of Homeless:Statutory language of the definition in section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Act,

as amended by the HEARTH Act. The final rule maintains these four categories:

(1) Individuals and families who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate

nighttime residence and includes a subset for an individual who resided in an emergency shelter or a place not meant for human habitation and who is exiting an institution where he or she temporarily resided;

(2) individuals and families who will imminently lose their primary nighttime residence;

(3) unaccompanied youth and families with children and youth who are defined as homeless under other federal statutes who do not otherwise qualify as homeless under this definition; and

(4) individuals and families who are fleeing, or are attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other dangerous or life-threatening conditions that relate to violence against the individual or a family member.

Relevant LegislationHearth Act

Broadened the definition/category of DV fleeingVAWA protections/confidentiality to HUD guidelines added (see below for guidelines).

VAWA (Violence Against Women Act)Reauthorization 2013Previously:

Federal register Volume 75 No. 207, October 27, 2010, rules and regulations HUD Programs: Violence Against Women Act Conforming Amendments pages 66246-66265 including but not limited to:

Confidentiality – no personal or identifying information; safety for battered womenNo evictions in public housing due to domestic violenceNo discrimination in public housing due to domestic violence

FVPSA (Family Violence Prevention and Services Act)Texas Penal Code (may break lease if victim of domestic violence obtains a protective order).

Reauthorization of VAWA 2013VAWA 2013 was signed into law on March 7th, 2013. Here are some of the key changes

related to housing:

VAWA 2013 maintains protections for public housing, Section 8 vouchers, and project based Section 8, and also expands the housing protections from VAWA 2005 to include the following programs which includes HUDs Homeless Assistance Programs: HOME Investment Partnerships program § 202 supportive housing for the elderly Section 236 Rental Program § 811 supportive housing for people with disabilities Section 221(d)(3) Below Market Interest Rate (BMIR) Program HOPWA housing program HUD’s McKinney-Vento homeless programs Low-Income Housing Tax Credit properties USDA Rural Housing properties

VAWA 2013 continues to bar eviction and termination due to a tenants status as a survivor, and requires landlords to maintain survivor-tenant confidentiality. It also continues to prohibit a tenant who is a survivor of domestic violence from being denied assistance, tenancy, or occupancy rights based solely on criminal activity related to an act of domestic violence committed against them.

VAWA 2013 continued VAWA 2013 now expressly extends housing protections to survivors of sexual assault,

and adds intimate partner to the list of eligible relationships in the domestic violence �definition. Protections also now cover an affiliated individual, which includes any �person living with the survivor and related to him or her by blood or marriage including the survivors spouse, parent, brother, sister, child, or any person to whom the survivor stands in loco parentis.

It continues to allow a lease bifurcation so a tenant or lawful occupant who engages in criminal acts of physical violence against affiliated individuals or others may be evicted or removed without evicting or removing or otherwise penalizing a victim who is a tenant or lawful occupant. If victim cannot establish eligibility, the landlord must give areasonable amount of time to find new housing or establish eligibility under another covered housing program.

New housing protections in VAWA 2013 includes the requirement that each appropriate agency develop a notice of rights under VAWA for tenants and provide such notice at the time a person applies for housing, when a person is admitted as a tenant of a housing unit, and when a tenant is threatened with eviction or termination of housing benefits.

VAWA 2013 continued VAWA 2013 requires each appropriate agency to adopt a model transfer plan for use by

public housing agencies and owners or managers of housing. Tenants must request a transfer and reasonably believe that they are threatened with imminent harm from further violence if the tenant remains in the same unit.

While HUD is developing regulations to codify these important protections for HUD-covered programs and to provide guidance on such statutory provisions as reasonable time and notice of rights, housing providers in HUD-covered programs should not wait on HUD regulations to extend the basic VAWA protections (e.g., no eviction or termination to survivors of domestic violence) to tenants residing in HUD-assisted housing. Furthermore, we would like to take this opportunity to remind you that certain policies and practices that treat victims of domestic violence different from other tenants may be considered to be discrimination on the basis of sex under the federal Fair Housing Act.

If a housing provider refuses to rent, evicts, or otherwise treats someone differently because of that persons status as a victim of domestic violence, HUD or the courts may find a violation under the Fair Housing Act due to direct discrimination, unequal treatment, or disparate impact. If a jurisdiction or other entity encourages or causes differential treatment toward domestic violence victims, that jurisdiction or entity could encounter liability. For these reasons, we encourage you to review the HUD notice published in the federal register (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-08-06/pdf/2013-18920.pdf) and HUDs 2011 guidance on domestic violence and fair housing (http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/library/11-domestic-violence-memo-with-attachment.pdf)

(Please note that the 2011 guidance covers protections under the Fair Housing Act and under VAWA 2005 but has not yet been updated to include the protections under VAWA 2013).

Coordinated INTAKE?????

• HUD has specifically identified individuals and families fleeing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as a population that should access services through a coordinated assessment process.

• HUD is currently accepting comments on whether or not victim service providers should be exempt from participating in the same coordinated assessment process as other homeless assistance providers.

• However, it appears that even if victim service providers are allowed to opt out, there will be a separate, but comparable system required.

• In either case, communities must be prepared to be responsive to and address the housing needs of domestic violence survivors, whether they present within the domestic violence system or at the homeless assistance system.

Medical Services

Law Enforceme

nt

Other Social

Services

Criminal Justice

Survivors

DFPS

DV Services

RESOURCES:

• Listen to the victim and believe her. • Tell her you are concerned for safety.• Tell her she is not alone and that help is available. • Let her know that without intervention, abuse often

escalates in frequency and severity over time. • Seek expert assistance. Suggesting that she merely

return home places her and her children in real danger.

What can I do?

• Hold the abuser accountable. Don't minimize his abusive behavior. Support him in seeking specialized batterers counseling (this does not mean anger management) to help change his behavior. Continue to hold him accountable and to support and protect the victim even after he has begun a counseling program.

• If reconciliation is to occur, it can be considered only after the above steps have taken place.

What can I do?