Women Against Abuse, Inc.

We fulfill our mission through innovative programs and community collaborations, serving an average of 10,325 people/year over the past five years. We envision a future in which Philadelphia has a coordinated and informed approach to domestic violence, with sufficient interventions that lead to safe homes and safe communities.

Women Against Abuse's theory of change defines our intended impact: that people experiencing domestic violence will be safe and empowered until domestic violence no longer exists. To that end, the long-term outcomes we are working toward include the following:
- Survivors will be empowered to maintain a place to live that is safe, stable and affordable
- Survivors in Philadelphia will experience systems that are domestic violence-informed
- Survivors will benefit from greater economic stability
- Survivors will be empowered to implement coping and safety strategies
- Philadelphians will experience healthy relationships
- Philadelphia will find domestic violence / intimate partner violence intolerable

In order to achieve our Theory of Change goals, Women Against Abuse will provide safety, empowerment and prevention in the form of hotline counseling, safety planning, legal options counseling and representation, safe and confidential housing, trauma-informed therapy, psycho-education, community education, culture change, collaborative resources/referrals, systems-change, and lobbying.

We are working toward the following short-term outcomes:

SAFETY:
- survivors are out of immediate crisis
- survivors have access to financial resources
- survivors receive legal representation
- survivors are granted Protection From Abuse / Protection From Sexual Violence and Intimidation orders
- survivors regain/gain custody of their children
- survivors have knowledge of the dynamics of abusive relationships
- survivors can identify strategies to enhane their safety
- surviviors have knowledge about the justice process
- the policy environment is supportive
- social service professionals are equipped to support survivors

EMPOWERMENT
- survivors feel more hopeful and less isolated
- survivors have awareness of how trauma affects their life
- survivors are connected to employment resources
- survivors reduce the impact of trauma in their lives
- survivors can identify coping skills
- survivors have access to trusted community resources

PREVENTION
- training participants are able to identify resources related to domestic violence/intimate partner violence
- Philadelphians have knowledge of the dynamics and warning signs of abusive relationships

Throughout its 45+ year history, Women Against Abuse has been a pioneering leader in advocating for survivors of domestic violence, opening Philadelphia's only emergency safe haven for domestic violence in 1977; launching one of the first legal centers in the nation dedicated to the needs of survivors of domestic violence at a time when police officers and the public largely dismissed domestic violence as a private issue; and establishing the region's first transitional housing program for survivors of domestic violence in 1987. Women Against Abuse has since actively upheld this legacy of leadership, innovation and advocacy.

Founded on a model of empowerment that prioritizes client self-determination, Women Against Abuse's programs uniquely prioritize client autonomy and safety. The organization is certified in the Sanctuary® Model, an evidence-supported, trauma-informed approach to transforming organizational cultures to promote healing.

All staff receive 40-hour domestic violence training, and the organization's senior management team brings extensive experience in their respective fields. Additionally, our 24-member Board of Directors represent a robust cross-section of expertise and backgrounds that effectively guide and govern the organization.

Women Against Abuse served an ave. of 10,325 people/yr over the last 5 years, and made significant progress in several key areas:
1) We continued operating throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, creatively adapting services to ensure we remained a refuge and advocate for people impacted by domestic violence during a time of significant need.

2) We strengthened our quality trauma-informed residential services:
(a) In 2014, we doubled our shelter capacity to 200 beds in two handicapped-accessible facilities that serve a total of approx. 1,200 survivors each year. Following more than 40 years of serving survivors who identify as women in our safe havens, we opened our doors to welcome survivors of all gender identities, beginning in January 2019.
(b) We were thrilled to become one of the first domestic violence organizations to achieve Sanctuary Certification and recertification. The Sanctuary® Model is an evidence-supported, trauma-informed organizational change approach to establishing a culture that promotes healing, safety and empowerment for both clients and staff.
(c) We created and implemented a new trauma-informed case management manual that addresses the intersection between homelessness and domestic violence. This first of its kind manual has the potential to serve as a national model. We also integrated Economic Empowerment programming into our case management to better support clients in achieving their goals around income, employment and education.

3) We successfully advocated for a first ever city entity charged with overseeing Philadelphia's response to domestic violence! The Office of Domestic Violence Strategies will solidify and lead this work, ensuring long-term sustainability and impact.

4) In light of the significant need for free legal intervention for survivors of domestic violence, we expanded our capacity, growing our Legal Center to a more than 30-member team of professionals with extensive expertise.

5) We are building our capacity to raise diverse and sustainable funding to support our work for the long-haul through a formal planned giving program: the 1976 Legacy Society.

6) We are in the midst of an organizational race equity audit that will assess how our programs, structure, partnerships, policies and history perpetuate anti-Blackness, bias and racism; and identify recommended changes to our culture that will set us on the path to becoming a fully inclusive, multicultural and antiracist organization.