Programs and results
What we aim to solve
1 in 4 women, 1 in 7 men, and 1 in 3 teens report experiencing abuse by an intimate partner in their lifetime. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, over 10 million people report being abused by their intimate partner every year, making up 15% of violent crimes reported in the U.S. On any single day in California, an average 1,236 requests for services will go unmet because of lack of resources and support, reported by the California Census of Domestic Violence Services in 2019. COVID-19 has caused domestic violence rates to rise tremendously. For victims in abusive relationships, the “Stay at Home” order is the worst-case scenario, and in lethal situations, means life or death. Having access to crisis intervention safety services is essential to individuals and families experiencing domestic violence during COVID-19.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Emergency Residential Shelter
As a 55-bed shelter, we offer programs and support for all genders and family sizes, including food, clothing, personal care items, group and individual counseling, legal and social services advocacy, employment assistance, and life-management skills. The shelter is staffed 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. The Children’s Program is five days a week, assisting children in both the emergency and transitional shelters to reduce the trauma and self-blame they experience from witnessing domestic violence or as survivors themselves. Advocates help children explore their feelings, learn alternatives to violence and constructively manage their anger. School-aged children are able to continue their education through the school district at which they attend. Our emergency shelter allows for residents to stay for 30-60 days. Our shelter program enables survivors to heal from their trauma in a safe, client-centered space to start their journey to safety.
Transitional Housing Program
The transitional shelter provides residence, case management and other services free of charge. Residents are required to save 30% of their income in order to attain permanent housing, purchase a car or furniture, or pursue educational goals after leaving the program. The program addresses the longer-term needs of survivors and their children, providing the opportunity to work toward their goals of independent, non-violent homes.
Community Outreach Services
When a survivors walks through our doors for the first time, they are met with a case manager who provides an overview of each service we provide. The case manager and client will decide together what services best meet the client’s needs at that time. At our outreach office we provide a 24-hour hotline, case management, individual counseling, support groups, psycho-educational classes, legal advocacy, housing assistance, and child care.
Our case managers meet with clients on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to set short and long term goals based on the needs the client has expressed. Goals range from finding employment, to creating a safety plan when choosing to leave their partner, to developing self care strategies the client can start implementing for their own mental health and well-being. Our legal advocate supports clients through assisting in the restraining order process, court accompaniment, and preparing for court cases involving divorce, stalking, immigration status, and child support.
CHAT - Child Abuse Treatment Program
The Child Abuse Treatment Program (CHAT) provides counseling and case management services to children from 4 to 18 years of age who have experienced abuse, neglect or violence in their homes, schools or communities. Our counselors utilize a model of trauma-informed care to address the effects of trauma and facilitate the healing of each child in a sensitive manner.
Prevention Education
Our prevention program provides community outreach education through a variety of programs in K-12 schools, universities and colleges, and social service agencies. Our prevention educators host 6-8 Wellness Circles in schools educating students and staff on healthy relationship qualities, how to spot red flags of abusive behavior, coping with stress and anger, setting healthy boundaries, and more. This comprehensive program provides young people an opportunity to evaluate and change their own behaviors in relationships, with the goal of ending the cycle of violence. We provide additional support to the schools we serve by hosting informational tables at campus events and fairs, as well as working with students and administrators on creating safer environments on campus, and establishing anti-teen-dating-violence policies. Our outreach to universities and social service agencies consists of workshops, tabling events, and trainings.
Where we work
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of youth who demonstrate that they have developed healthy relationships
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Prevention Education
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our vision is a violence free world where every home is a safe home. Our goal is to eradicate domestic violence by using both intervention and prevention strategies, with the goal of ending the cycle of violence often passed down in families and communities. Domestic violence brings up an array of emotions like fear of leaving the abusive partner, low self-worth and confidence, shame of staying in the relationship, and feeling isolated with little support. House of Ruth provides a safe space for clients to process complex emotions while removing barriers to safety and self-sufficiency. Although we do not define success for our clients, our objective for every survivor is to leave House of Ruth feeling empowered, safe, and free from abuse.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Entering into the 2020-2021 fiscal year, House of Ruth finalized our new strategic plan to guide us through the next three years. The core strategic planning committee made up of executive leadership, board members, and staff developed this plan based on critical feedback from clients, staff, and community partners. The four priorities developed include: ensuring inclusivity and intentional services to clients; retaining staff to ensure mission delivery; strengthening community partnerships; and improving our financial health. Action items we will take in the next year to achieve these priorities are met include: performing an agency cultural responsiveness assessment and conducting a training workshop series for all agency personnel; exploring a professional development benefit option for staff annually; establishing alliances with additional community based organizations that offer services beyond House of Ruth’s competencies; and evaluating fundraising strategies with the goal of decreasing our fundraising efficiency ratio by 5%. Below are detailed objectives for each priority that we aim to achieve in the next 3 years:
Priority 1: Inclusivity and Intentional Services to All Identities
- Shift the organization’s language, culture, and perception of the populations we serve to be more inclusive in client services.
- Assess capacity to provide whole family services, including to people who harm.
- Ensure all groups of people representing House of Ruth reflect diverse identities to better serve all clients within the community.
Priority 2: People as a Priority
- Improve work/life balance to become the employer of choice.
- Invest in board development.
- Maximize staff efficiency/roles.
- Improve training and development processes.
Priority 3: Community Partnerships
- Strengthen outreach and awareness efforts in the community.
- Enrich current programs through improved community partnerships to better serve marginalized people.
- Build strong community partnerships to improve awareness of, and education about, our mission in the community.
- Develop a brand strategy to ensure that communication to the greater community reflects a clear message of who we are and what programs we offer.
Priority 4: Financial Health
- Improve overall financial health and stewardship.
- Enhance fundraising strategies to ensure organizational sustainability.
- Improve processes and systems to lower overall risks and provide high levels of efficiency and cost effectiveness in all operational areas.
- Collaborate across agency departments.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Since 1977 House of Ruth has served survivors of domestic violence and their families. We will continue to improve and expand our services using evidence-based practices, trauma-informed and survivor-centered strategies, until we eradicate domestic violence.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Throughout the 2019-2020 fiscal year, even in the midst of a global pandemic, House of Ruth responded to 1,918 hotline calls on our 24-hour crisis line, providing crisis counseling, referrals, and shelter assessments. House of Ruth provided 325 individuals with emergency shelter, transitional housing, or permanent housing, resulting in increased feelings of safety and self-sufficiency. We assisted 897 individuals with counseling or case management services to develop plans to meet their unique goals, resulting in increased feelings of confidence and empowerment. In addition, we and facilitated over 200 workshops to teenagers and adults about healthy relationships and domestic violence, resulting in greater knowledge and awareness of domestic violence and resources for help in the community.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
House of Ruth, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 01/24/2023
Brian Kraatz
Western University of Health Sciences
Lisa Phillips
Loma Linda Veterans Hospital
Brian Kraatz
Western University of Health Sciences
Leslie Negritto
Claremont Graduate University
William Swartz
Pomona College
Thomas Allison
University of La Verne
Heather Davis
Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center
Robin Leonhard
Claremont Community
Ehmandah Ramsay
She Stories
Lynn Sarf
Claremont Colleges
Pat Bell
House of Ruth
Debbie Lopez
Municipal Police Department
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/05/2019GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.