Washington State Pilot Project

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A pilot project funded by the Bill & Melinda

Gates Foundation

2-year funding for 4 agencies

WSCADV funded to provide technical

assistance to agencies and to work at

systems level for policy and practice change

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Must serve DV victim/survivors

Intent to support access to and/or

maintenance of permanent housing

Voluntary services—only requirement is to

comply with lease agreement

Funding roughly split between

staffing/infrastructure and flexible client

assistance

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The heart of the program is survivor-driven

advocacy

When survivors are allowed to choose

what services they need and how to

direct their financial support, the

outcomes are usually successful—and

cost effective

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“In a 30-day shelter, you don’t always have

time to follow people through their whole

progress into wherever they’re going. And so

it’s not like people didn’t try to help people

into housing in the past, but there just

wasn’t the time or the staff hours to do that.

And so there wasn’t a lot of follow up once

you left the shelter.” (staff)

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“You feel like a hunted animal…but now I

have a new normal that makes it possible to

build a new life.” (survivor)

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Completely flexible financial assistance is a

critical part of the tool kit.

It’s all about the relationships

With the survivors

With landlords

With homeless/housing organizations

With community partners

With funders

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Asking survivors questions about housing

stability early on can help prevent

homelessness—between 30% and 40% of new

program participants had housing at intake

Early interventions can prevent homelessness

or rapidly rehouse people for a minimal

amount of money and/or services

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Promising results=Bill & Melinda Gates

Foundation doubled investment

A third year of funding for Cohort 1 agencies

to test sustainability strategies

A new cohort of 9 agencies, focused on the

most difficult to serve populations, funded

for 3 years

Continuing investment in WSCADV to

coordinate project and evaluation and to

communicate learnings to a broader

audience.

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WHERE ARE WE NOW

WITH COHORT 1?

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Cohort 2: Seven rural agencies

Three Tribes

One agency serving primarily

immigrants

One agency serving primarily Latina

survivors

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29% White/Caucasian

27% Native American

12% Asian

10% Hispanic

10% African American

9% Pacific Islander

26% Immigrants or Refugees

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Over half of housing accessed/maintained by

survivors is fair market rent=program

participants employed

Not as high a “light touch” percent with

Cohort 2 as with Cohort 1=more barriers and

fewer community resources

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Screening survivors/resource allocation

Maintaining contact with survivors in

program

Shifting from facility-based services to

mobile advocacy

Revising agency policies about home visits

and transporting clients; budgeting

appropriately

Developing new partnerships

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Integrate housing into all aspects of DV

agency service—not just one advocate

Community/Stakeholder education and

marketing

Education and support from

foundations

Systems level changes in public funding

Shifting resources from current service

models to new service model

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Housing stock—safe, affordable or

subsidized, maintained

Employment—living wage, reliable hours,

benefits (health care, sick leave)

Other income—predictable child support

payments, fluctuating TANF, no disability

lifeline

Criminal history, evictions, debt, credit

history

Immigration status

Drug/Alcohol Abuse; Impact of Trauma

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“Safety: before I didn’t feel safe at all, but

now that we have our own house, we feel

safer. I can lock the door and say he can’t

come in. My daughter feels a lot safer too.”

“I feel a lot safer. Nobody knows where I live.

I don’t have to worry if I’m being followed.”

“I’m safer—not just from the abuser, but I

moved away from a bad neighborhood.”

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“Can’t do much without stability—

need housing to be stable.”

“You don’t have anything without a

safe space…grounding.”

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Linda Olsen, MA, MSW

Housing Program Coordinator

Washington State Coalition Against

Domestic Violence

linda@wscadv.org

205-389-2515, x 205

www.wscadv.org

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