Housing

NNEDV’s Housing Project supports transitional housing programs across the country, provides training and program development, and advocates for improved housing-related policies. The project works to enhance services and accessibility for survivors.

Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness for women and children in the United States and a lack of affordable housing options is regularly reported by survivors as a primary barrier to escaping abuse. Housing programs provide critical services for survivors of domestic violence and are often a key component that allows survivors to flee the violence perpetrated against them. Throughout the country, housing programs vary to include short and long-term housing, rental assistance services, and support services that work to meet the individual needs of survivors.

NNEDV is committed to addressing this issue through the following initiatives:

Transitional Housing Technical Assistance Program

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), NNEDV provides comprehensive, specialized technical assistance and training to state and territorial domestic violence coalitions, local domestic violence programs, other nonprofit organizations and local and state agencies. The Housing Project helps organizations create best practices in housing, transitional housing and related services for victims, and strengthens programs’ response to victims with an emphasis on survivor-driven, empowerment-based services.

As the national Technical Assistance provider, NNEDV offers OVW Transitional Housing grantees a range of educational opportunities and access to resources through national trainings and individualized assistance. As part of this initiative, NNEDV has created an online Transitional Housing Toolkit to provide organizations with a variety of resources and templates to enhance their work.

Collaboration and Systems Advocacy

NNEDV works with national and federal agency partners to increase awareness about the dynamics of domestic violence and victim’s housing needs, to improve access for victims and systems response. NNEDV presents at conferences and participates in expert panels at the national, state and local level, and provides training and technical assistance to government entities, non-profit organizations, Public Housing Authorities, children’s advocacy groups, and anti-poverty organizations. Additionally, our Collaborative Approach to Housing for Survivors team closely monitors and affects legislative initiatives and federal housing policies that impact victims of domestic violence.

NNEDV is grateful to Airbnb for their Housing support and partnership.