The Link Between Intimate Partner Violence and Housing

An intimate partner can jeopardize a person’s housing.  Not having a roof over your head can increase the risk you face.  The National Sexual  Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), operated by the PA Coalition Against Rape, has research indicating that nearly 10% of women and 8% of men who experienced housing insecurity or homelessness in the past year (2015), had a higher prevalence of intimate partner violence.  For women, it is the leading cause of homelessness in America according to the National Center Against Domestic Violence.

The NSVRC has found that 61% of girls and 16% of boys say sexual abuse at home is why they left.   Many LGBT youth leave their homes because they were rejected as a result of their gender identity and/or sexual orientation.  46% of these youth run away, and 43% indicate they were forced to leave.

Youth who leave their homes are preyed upon by human traffickers.  70% of youth aged victims living on the streets are victims of sexual exploitation.

Transitions has a strong commitment to increasing the public understanding of human trafficking, training first responders in the community on identifying victims and ensuring they are safe and providing direct services to trafficking victims.  Transitions works with the County Children and Youth Agencies to ensure human services are provided to victimized youth.  Housing for victims remains a challenge. Processing them in the judicial system re-victimizes them but the Act 105 the PA Comprehensive Human Trafficking bill does not do enough to address the needs of minor victims. There is additional legislation, the proposed PA Safe Harbor Bill, that addresses this issue.

Local Housing needs

Each trafficking victim has a different set of circumstances and needs, and Transitions has been continuously providing services to victims since it became a Human Trafficking Crime Victim Services Center in 2014, which takes us to the topic of housing adult victims of intimate partner and domestic violence in Union, Snyder and Northumberland Counties.

An interview with the Transitions House Managers who are responsible for the two safe houses that Transitions operates in Transitions’ three counties were asked about what they experience in each county as they assist clients in locating housing.  In Union and Snyder Counties, housing that is available to victims, who often find themselves with limited income, is extremely limited if non-existent.  There is hope that available housing stock for rent will increase with the recent changes with Bucknell University students moving back on campus.  While Northumberland County’s housing was more available in 2013-2015, in the last several months and options are very limited.

The average stay of Transitions’ clients in our safe houses is thirty days.  Once survivors are stabilized after the trauma they have experienced, case managers work with them to get any needed documentation (social security cards, drivers’ licenses), locate employment and housing and, if needed, help them arrange for childcare.   The biggest barrier they face in becoming self-sufficient is finding safe, affordable housing.

During the interview, the House Managers understood the hesitance that landlords may have in renting to domestic violence victims.  The process of leaving the abusive and controlling partner sometimes becomes extended, and once the partner attempts to leave, she or he is most in danger.  It is a complicated process. 

Transitions  is committed to working with landlords to ease the path for violence victims to find the safety of a roof over their heads for themselves and their children.  In 2015, Transitions provided safe housing in the two safe houses for 185 domestic or intimate partner violence victims.  On average, these victims have two children.  This is a very compassionate and caring community and we are hopeful that we will succeed in helping our victims into safety with a roof over their heads in a home they can consider their own.

Written by Susan K. Mathias, CEO