A women's shelter, also known as a women's refuge and battered women's shelter, is a place of temporary protection and support for women escaping domestic violence and intimate partner violence of all forms. The term is also frequently used to describe a location for the same purpose that is open to people of all genders at risk.
Telephone counseling refers to any type of psychological service performed over the telephone. Telephone counseling ranges from individual, couple or group psychotherapy with a professional therapist to psychological first aid provided by para-professional counselors. In-person therapists often advise clients to make use of telephone crisis counseling to provide the client with an avenue to obtain support outside of therapy if they cannot be reached in an emergency or at the conclusion of a therapeutic relationship.
The Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh was founded in 1974 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and provides services for victims of domestic violence. It was one of the first six centers for domestic violence that was established in the United States.
The Marjaree Mason Center is a non-profit, shelter-based, domestic violence program headquartered in Fresno, California. Named for an Easton, California woman who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, the center operates one of the largest shelters in California.
The Bahamas Crisis Centre is a private, non-profit organization located in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas that is dedicated to treating victims of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.
The Center Against Domestic Violence is an American not-for-profit organization dedicated to preventing violence in the family and promoting the well-being and economic independence of women and children. It provides safe shelters, a network of supportive services, advocacy, education and resource information, and coalition building.
Women in Distress (WID) is a nationally accredited, state-certified, full service domestic violence center in Broward County, Florida. WID adopts an empowerment based model. WID provides victims of domestic violence with safe shelter, crisis intervention and resources, and raises community awareness through intervention, education and advocacy. WID works in partnership with the Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO). At a press conference in October 2009, Florida Governor Charlie Crist commended Women in Distress and Broward Sheriff's Office for their joint efforts to combat domestic violence. Tiffany Carr, the CEO of Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence (FCADV) said Broward County had been chosen to lead the rollout of Florida's new $1.2 million program to combat child abuse, because the successful partnership between Women in Distress and Broward Sheriff's Office had rapidly exceeded all expectations.
House Of Ruth Maryland is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1977 by a coalition of women's organizations, religious groups, service providers, and elected officials to provide a safe haven for victims of domestic violence and their children. It is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States and has offices throughout the state of Maryland. House of Ruth Maryland leads the fight to end violence against women and their children by confronting the attitudes, behaviors and systems that perpetuate it, and by providing victims with the services necessary to rebuild their lives safely and free of fear. Funding for House of Ruth Maryland is made possible through private (53%) and government (38%) funds, and other sources (9%) including investment income, training and client fees resulting mainly from the Gateway Project. Since its inception, The House of Ruth Maryland has served over 100,000 victims of domestic violence.
Hubbard House is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 entity, established in 1976, that was the first domestic violence shelter in Florida. Hubbard House is a certified, comprehensive domestic violence center and is a nationally recognized leader in domestic violence intervention. It provides programs and services to more than 5,000 women, children, and men annually in Duval and Baker counties. Hubbard House also provided a victim advocate in Nassau County beginning in 2000. The county later established Micah's Place.
Refuge is a United Kingdom charity providing specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic violence. It was founded by author and Men’s Rights Activist Erin Pizzey. Refuge provides a national network of specialist services, including emergency refuge accommodation (refuges), community outreach, independent domestic violence advocacy (IDVAs), culturally specific services and a team of child support workers. Refuge also runs the Freephone 24-Hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is only available for women.
Women's Center of Rhode Island (WCRI) is a domestic violence organization and safe house serving women and children in Providence and East Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1974, WCRI is a nationally recognized agency for promoting a violence-free America. WCRI is a member of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
The Women's Shelter of South Texas was established in 1978 to provide emergency shelter and support for victims of domestic violence. Services expanded in 1993 to include survivors of sexual assault. New facilities were built in 1994 that allows up to 65 clients. In 1995, the Batterers Intervention and Prevention Program (BIPP) was established. In 1987 the agency expanded to provide services to rural areas in Alice, Beeville, Kingsville, and Sinton. The Shelter wants to include offices and a full staff in each location. The organization continues to educate and prevent sexual assault in South Texas.
Switchboard of Miami, Inc., commonly referred to as Switchboard, was a private, nonprofit and registered 501(c)(3) organization located in Miami, Florida, United States that provided Miami-Dade County with comprehensive telephone counseling and referral services to thousands of social service programs beginning in 1968. The organization also offered counseling services and prevention programs, such as initiatives aimed at assisting high-risk youth and their families through partnerships with local schools. Since 1968, these services have been offered to the community at no charge. Callers can seek advice confidentially, as no information is needed by the company in order to receive the services. Switchboard shut down in 2016 following a "major financial emergency".
Hockey Helps the Homeless (HHTH) is a volunteer-driven charitable organization established in 1996. HHTH annually hosts Pro-am and Collegiate hockey tournaments in 15 cities across Canada where all funds raised locally will directly make an impact in their communities. HHTH's mission is to leverage Canada's affinity for hockey to raise awareness and financial support for the homeless through education, fundraising, and partnering with solutions-based local homeless support agencies. Over the past 25 years, HHTH has grown into one of the largest funders of homelessness support programs in Canada.
SAWA is a Palestinian, non-profit civil society organization established in 1998 by a group of female volunteers active in women's issues.
Harbor House of Central Florida is a non-profit state-certified domestic violence shelter near Orlando, in Orange County, Florida. Harbor House operates a 24-hour crisis hotline, and provides counseling and a 110-bed safe shelter for women, children and men. Its activities include community outreach, legal advocacy services, and community and professional education.
The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) is a division of the US Executive Branch under the Administration for Children and Families and the Department of Health and Human Services. The FYSB's primary purpose is to support programs for at-risk youth and their families.
Womankind, formerly known as the New York Asian Women's Centre (NYAWC), was founded in 1982 by a group of volunteers led by Pat Eng. In 2017, the NYAWC changed its name to Womankind. It is a non-profit organization which aims to empower Asian survivors of gender based violence. Womankind was initially a community awareness program designed to educate families about domestic violence in Chinatown, and then developed into a 24-hour multilingual hotline that now includes 18 different Asian languages and dialects. Womankind also provides Asian immigrant women confidential services including an emergency refuge, shelter services, crisis counseling, 24-hour online free multilingual hotline, welfare promotion, support groups, parenting workshops, children's services, volunteer training, community education, and some English courses. Each year, the organization receives over 3,000 hotline calls.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic many countries have reported an increase in domestic violence and intimate partner violence. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, noting the "horrifying global surge", has called for a domestic violence "ceasefire". UN Women stated that COVID-19 created "conditions for abuse that are ideal for abusers because it forced people into lockdown" thus causing a "shadow pandemic" that exacerbated preexisting issues with domestic violence globally.
Earl Silverman was a Canadian domestic abuse survivor, activist and men's rights advocate who founded the Men's Alternative Safe House (MASH), the only privately funded domestic abuse shelter for men in Canada, and the Family of Men society, which operated phone lines to assist victims. He also served as the Canadian Liaison for the National Coalition for Men. June 14 is unofficially "Earl Silverman Day."
