Sanctuary for Families, Inc.

Sanctuary for Families is dedicated to the safety, healing and self-determination of victims of domestic violence and related forms of gender violence. Through comprehensive services for our adults and children, and through outreach, education and advocacy, we strive to create a world in which freedom from gender violence is a basic human right.

We work to end gender violence through three key strategies: direct services, outreach and training, and systems-change advocacy.

DIRECT SERVICES: Access to high quality, culturally sensitive legal representation and counseling services is critical for adults and children seeking to leave abuse behind for good. Our attorneys and counselors are experts in the legal challenges facing survivors of gender violence and the significant emotional and psychological barriers gender violence survivors face following abuse. In addition to legal representation and counseling, Sanctuary runs 5 crisis shelters and New York's largest transitional shelter, providing survivors and their families with safety, stability, and security. Our staff is equipped to help all gender violence survivors including immigrant adults and children, LGBTQ+ people, and survivors of trafficking, female genital mutilation, and forced/child marriage.

OUTREACH: We provide outreach, education and trainings to community members and groups including schools, service providers, law enforcement, courts and judges, faith communities, cultural groups, and many more.

SYSTEMS CHANGE ADVOCACY: We recognize advocacy work as critically important to changing the social and institutional frameworks that perpetuate gender violence. Sanctuary staff, supporters and survivor-leaders advocate for improved policies and legislation around issues affecting survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and related forms of gender violence. Our advocacy has led to the passage of life-saving city- and state-level legislation, and changed policies affecting our clients at major governmental agencies.

Sanctuary for Families is able to serve thousands of gender violence survivors every year thanks to expert level staff and our committed network of supporters.

OUR STAFF

Sanctuary currently employs over 200 full-time staff. In order to effectively serve our clients, we speak nearly 30 languages and provide services in 10 locations throughout New York City.

CLINICAL SERVICES: Our 60 masters-level social workers and support staff utilize evidence-based trauma focused-focused therapies. Recognizing the diverse backgrounds our clients represent, our Clinical staff provide services in multiple languages, and prioritize cultural sensitivity and inclusivity in their practice.

LEGAL SERVICES: Our 85 staff attorneys and support staff comprise the largest legal center in the country dedicated exclusively to survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and related forms of gender violence. Working with nearly 1,000 pro bono attorneys from partner law firms, we provide legal representation, advocacy and related services to thousands of clients each year with positive outcomes in family and matrimonial law, immigration, public benefits, and other specialty areas.

SHELTER: When families enter one of our five crisis shelters, their needs are often overwhelming. We take steps to meet their short-term needs, while preparing them for long-term success. Crisis shelter is available to 44 adults and children every night, who may stay for up to six months. For those in need of more time, Sanctuary's transitional shelter houses offers longer term services and can house 58 families, most of who stay for more than eight months.

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT: Sanctuary provides economic empowerment services to nearly 390 adults each year. These services include career readiness and hard skills training, financial literacy, employment referrals, and education to help survivors achieve economic stability.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Our 33-member board is comprised of a diverse array of individuals with backgrounds in business, law, medicine, and nonprofit leadership, and includes survivors of gender violence.


ADVISORY GROUPS

Our advisory groups build bridges between our work and New York's many resources. While our Pro Bono Council and Career Advancement Network focus on connecting professionals to Sanctuary's direct services, our President's Council, Families for Families group and Legal Advisory Council focus on promoting Sanctuary's work in New York and beyond.

VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers are essential to our ability to provide high-quality personalized care to survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and related forms of gender violence. Last year, Sanctuary engaged around 2,500 volunteers who interned, tutored, and translated, and provided assistance with donated goods among a wide array of other jobs.

Last year, Sanctuary delivered direct services to nearly 9,000 adult and child survivors.

These direct services were complemented by extensive community outreach, training, and education, which reached nearly 9,000 community leaders, professionals, government officials, and others concerned about crimes of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and related forms of gender violence, and resources available to victims.

In recent years, Sanctuary has successfully advocated for passage of a New York State bill to prohibit marriage for children under the age of 17 a bill to eliminate the requirement in New York State's trafficking laws that prosecutors in trafficking cases prove force, fraud, or coercion when a victim is under 18, and a third bill to criminalize cyber sexual abuse also known as "revenge porn."

Other advocacy efforts include work on a new initiative to provide incarcerated survivors of gender violence with pro bono representation, passage of a NYC ordinance based on the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the launch of the New York Coalition to end FGM.

Despite these efforts, considerable work remains to be done. As we look ahead, Sanctuary has set three main goals to be achieve by the end of they year:

1. Expand our work in targeted areas of high need for our (areas include: economic empowerment, children and youth services, housing assistance)
2. Maximize the impact of our work by strengthening clients' pathway to services and elevating our understanding of our impact on clients' lives in order to refine and improve results for our clients and contribute to the field
3. Advance Sanctuary's strategic leadership in the movement to end gender violence through an integrated advocacy and outreach agenda and promotion of survivor leadership

Our goals are ambitious but we are already on our way to achieving them thanks to the dedication of our incredible staff, Board, and supporters.