HAVEN from Domestic and Sexual Violence

Dear Friend,

First of all, I hope you and your loved ones are well and staying healthy. HAVEN is deeply grateful to our community of supporters and we care about your safety and wellbeing. These days, we often hear “we are all in this together” as a call for unity during the coronavirus crisis. This isn’t a new call to action for HAVEN. We have always “been in this together” with people like you when it comes to ending gender based violence.

I’m reaching out today to update you on how you can help support survivors during the coronavirus crisis. It is a Pandemic within a Pandemic – Intimate Partner Violence during COVID-19.

Our entire community is feeling the many impacts of the pandemic on our local economy, healthcare and frontline workers, families struggling with income and job loss, children who are missing their friends and teachers, and so much more. The pandemic is affecting some of us much harder than others. Failures in our social safety net are now painfully apparent, disproportionately impacting vulnerable families who were already living on the margins. About 38% of the households in our four-county service area were already struggling to make ends meet before the pandemic, and now more are falling into poverty because of job loss and other economic crisis.

We know that domestic and sexual violence surges in times of natural disasters and crises. The pandemic, however, is creating a perfect storm for abuse. Social isolation is one of the most common tactics used by abusers and makes it hard for survivors to seek help. Other common factors associated with increased domestic violence include stress, mental health challenges, economic anxiety, and joblessness – all of which are very present during this pandemic. National data show a sharp uptick of 20% in reports of domestic violence. Across Oregon, domestic violence crisis-lines and hotlines are seeing increased calls from survivors seeking help. Here at HAVEN, we’ve experienced a significate increase in calls coming into our crisis line, request for food/shelter/clothing, transportation and an increase in weekly counseling sessions.

HAVEN is a beacon in this storm. HAVEN is here for survivors of domestic/sexual violence, stalking and human trafficking who need safety, support, and access to resources. As a provider of essential services, we have remained open for crisis and emergency response throughout the executive order(s) to stay home and ‘freeze’, offering 24-hour crisis line support, advocacy, counseling, and emergency shelter. We established an Emergency Fund for survivors in need of motel vouchers to get to safety when our shelter is full, as well as help with basic needs such as food, transportation and legal remedies. Our costs to maintain these essential services have increased at a time when we have lost anticipated revenue because we had to cancel our annual spring fundraiser as well as the Gorge-us Gals Ride; an all-women’s cycling event.

This is where we can really use your help.

With your help, HAVEN can respond to the uptick in requests for help from survivors and continue to offer our essential services. We’ve already raised $51,000 in emergency grants and need another $50,000 to meet our pandemic budget gap. Please make a gift today if you can. Every donation helps.

More than ever, I feel deeply that it’s important to lift everyone up so we can come out of this pandemic as a stronger, more caring community. At HAVEN, our vision has always been to create a world where everyone can live free from violence. We are learning that this goal is intrinsically connected to the broader health and wellbeing of our community. We are, indeed, all in this together.