Last Thursday, October 1st marked the first day of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This month of raising awareness and taking action looks a little different this year for DASH and other organizations across the District as we prioritize our community’s safety and health and shift all of our typical activities online.
It is more important than ever to recognize the importance of this month amid the pandemic, which has created a second pandemic of its own. DASH Executive Director, Koube Ngaaje, shares:
“Domestic violence has become a second pandemic of its own—stay-at-home orders became worst case scenarios, leaving survivors trapped indoors with their abusers. When the pandemic first broke out, we were seeing almost four times the number of survivors reach out for services.”
We know the effects of this will remain long-term, so we need all the support we can get from the community to continue providing survivors and their families the safe housing and critical services they need.
While we can’t gather in person just yet, there is no shortage of ways to get involved! All month long, there will be opportunities to engage from joining the conversation on social media, becoming a fun-raiser to rally your friends and family to support our $10K Challenge to provide Welcome Home Kits, or attend a virtual event!
For the full list of ways to get involved, please visit: dashdc.org/dvam/
A strategic leader in the fields of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and gender-based violence, PierreBerastaín officially began his journey as DASH’s Deputy Director on September 1, 2020.
Pierre brings with him over a decade’s expertise in organizational management and development, strategic planning, grant management, fiduciary acumen, training and technical assistance, and team development.
We are very excited to welcome Pierre to the DASH team!
Please click here to see his bio and learn more about Pierre.
Monday was the first day of school in DC, and it should have been a day full of children packing backpacks, putting on new shoes, and heading out the door excited about the promise of a fresh start and a new year. Unfortunately, COVID-19 means most students will start the school year virtually, at a desk or table in their home.
On this unusual first week of school, we want to thank our community for supporting DASH. Because of you, many children will start their first week of virtual learning in a safe place to call home. Survivors and their families have a roof over their heads and a secure place to learn, play, and sleep, thanks to your support of our safe housing programs.
Survivors, and their families, should never have to choose between living with abuse and becoming homeless. Thanks to you, they don’t have to. We wish them, and all of you, a happy and safe first day of school.
Rolando is DASH’s Community Housing Resource Specialist located at Virginia Williams Family Resource Center, DC’s main entry point for families experiencing homelessness.
Throughout this pandemic, he has shifted from seeing survivors face to face to conducting intakes and meetings by phone; he is doing a lot of crisis intervention work to help ensure that survivors are safe during the stay-at-home orders. At times, he receives a call from someone talking quietly or speaking only in yes/no answers, and he learns that the abuser is there in the room with them.
“When they are calling us, it means they have reached a breaking point. Asking for help is always the last thing – it means they are out of all other options.”
Rolando explains the process he takes survivors through when they call:
“I always try to remember that when they are calling, they are in a moment of despair so I try to keep it as simple as possible and take on whatever I can take on to relieve them of their anxiety.”
After walking survivors through the process, Rolando does what he can to relieve the burden on the survivor in their moment of crisis, whether that’s by calling landlords or finding out information on their behalf. That way, he can return to the survivor to guide them through their next steps to make the process of leaving and finding safe housing as calming and seamless as possible.
Knowing that the pandemic has put even more people at risk of violence and abuse, Rolando stays motivated by knowing that “an already vulnerable population is made more vulnerable” by COVID-19.
Jenny is one of DASH’s Community Housing Advocates who works with survivors and their families in our scattered-site safe housing programs. Jenny works primarily with survivors who are both living with HIV/AIDS as well as takes the lead with many of our Spanish-speaking individuals and families.
Jenny has seen first-hand how this public health crisis has hit them the hardest.
During this pandemic, she has seen an overwhelming number of people who are undocumented, have been laid off, can’t apply for unemployment, or didn’t receive a stimulus check — all while navigating abusive relationships.
Jenny shares, “Seeing these inequalities so clearly motivates me to keep doing this work” to help educate survivors navigate these situations as best they can.
“A lot of people don’t have access to information so I’ve been explaining that you can’t get evicted during this time or that you can set up a payment plan with your landlord.” She continues to share ways to remain stably housed and resources that are available through DASH and community partners.
Jenny mentions that this work is hard, but every so often she receives a message like this one:
“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me and my son during the program. I really appreciate it.”
Introducing: Right to Dream A new, scattered site housing and support program for transitioning youth survivors
We are excited to share the details of our newest program, Right to Dream, with you. Right to Dream is being launched with support from the DC Department of Human Services.
What is it?
Right to Dream is a scattered site housing program for transitioning youth (aged 18-24 years) who are survivors of domestic and/or sexual violence and are experiencing housing instability or homelessness. Like all of DASH’s programs, it is survivor-centered, low-barrier, voluntary, and trauma-informed.
Through Right to Dream, 20 transitioning youth survivors will receive wraparound supports and housing assistance for up to two years. They will be partnered with a DASH advocate who will help them find and set up their new home in the DC Metro area, check in with them regularly, and help them develop a plan for their safety. DASH advocates will support participants to identify their long-term goals and help them eliminate the barriers to achievement, helping them gain the skills, knowledge and supports to be confident adults who break the cycle of power and control their abusers forced on them.
Right to Dream participants will have access to educational opportunities, job training and career planning as well as a range of other community-based supports to help them recover from their trauma and become empowered. The goal at the end of the program is for each participant to be economically secure and able to maintain the lease on their own or, if they choose, to move to similar lease, and transition to self-sufficient adulthood.
Who is it for and why?
Transitioning youth are in a unique phase of life, no longer kids but not yet adults. This is a period of enormous change, when young people explore numerous roles and transitions, often leaving behind adolescent support networks, finding a job, and forming more complex intimate relationships.
Unfortunately, this is also a time when young people are especially vulnerable. Individuals are the most likely to be the victim of domestic or sexual violence during this phase of their life. Marginalized populations, such as LGBTQ youth or those living in poverty, are at even greater risk.
This program is the first of its kind in the District and surrounding areas. In partnership with the DC Department of Human Services, DASH saw the immense need for support services for this population and designed Right to Dream to help fill this gap.
What are we hoping to accomplish?
Right to Dream will:
Provide survivors access to safe, stable housing
Increase survivors’ safety
Increase survivors’ personal, economic, and safety-related empowerment
Provide supports that enable survivors to recover from their trauma
Support survivors to improve their overall wellbeing
Right to Dream will expand the availability of youth-friendly, survivor-focused, long-term transitional housing and services so participants are provided with resources to do more than just survive, enabling them to grow, achieve their own goals, and move toward independent lives.
How can YOU help?
One of the core components of Right to Dream is the support services for program participants. As we develop this portion of the program, we are looking to expand our partnerships in the community to help us provide program participants with more opportunities, including education and job training. If you are interested in partnering with us, please let us know by emailing righttodream@dashdc.org.
We are also recruiting more landlords and property managers to partner with DASH and provide housing through Right to Dream. Again, let us know if you can help by emailing righttodream@dashdc.org.
There are also a number of other ways you can get involved and support DASH. More information is available at https://dashdc.org/get-involved/.
At the start of quarantine, Zaneta was concerned about what it all meant for her role as an advocate and how all the uncertainty would affect how she helps navigate survivors through the available resources.
“I’ve heard a lot of people joke ‘I’m sure you’re working a lot less from home’ but I’m actually working a lot MORE. I work with a lot of survivors who have a lot of anxiety about the pandemic that’s turned into frustration and I’ve been providing a lot of education around how to cope with that.
That’s what has kept me motivated – knowing that I’m providing education and access to resources that they might not otherwise have to stay safe and deal with their anxiety through this crisis.”
Zaneta Greene, DASH Community Housing Resource Specialist
Zaneta works with DASH families in our Empowerment Project, our scattered-site safe housing program, as well as provides services to elders.
Because of the limited housing options for elders as a result of COVID-19, Zaneta shared that she had to become more creative to help survivors navigate their safety planning.
“They’re stuck at home with their abusers all the time and all they want to do is flee. Usually, I am very hands-on and I would go meet with them, sit down with them as they fill out a housing application, but I’m not able to do that right now so I’m finding new ways of working with them to make sure they feel safe. At the end of the day, I’m working for the people.
DASH stands with ALL survivors of domestic violence, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, because EVERYONE deserves a safe place to call home.
Domestic and sexual violence can occur in any relationship, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or other intersectional identities. In fact, LGBTQ individuals are at a higher risk of experiencing domestic violence and face unique barriers to safety.
For example, 61% of bisexual women experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner. Transgender women are three times more likely than others to experience stalking, financial abuse, and sexual harassment.
In addition to experiencing a higher risk of domestic abuse, LGBTQ survivors face unique barriers to safety. There is a distinct lack or resources designed specifically for survivors of this community. LGBTQ individuals may also be more hesitant to involve law enforcement.
At DASH we believe that survivors should not have to consider the impacts of homophobia and transphobia when seeking safety from domestic violence. We provide safe housing and support for ALL survivors.
To all LGBTQ survivors – we see you, we believe you, and we join you in celebrating Pride Month
June 15th is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, a reminder to lift up the voices and experiences of older adult survivors of all forms of abuse and neglect.
We all deserve to lead happy and healthy lives free from abuse as we age, yet older people are mistreated more often than we think.
Take action to raise awareness toward prevention on this important social justice issue!
Older people are mistreated more often than we think due to the lack of supports for older people in our communities. It doesn’t have to be this way.
The past weeks have been difficult for all of us on the DASH team as we collectively reel from the murders and loss of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and thousands like them throughout the years.
Like you and so many around the nation, I have spent countless days struggling to come to terms with the constantly renewed pain of being Black and Brown in America. DASH is an organization led by a Black immigrant woman, with a board and a staff who are majority people of color, serving predominantly women, men, and children of color. As an organization, and as individuals, we are deeply impacted by these recent events, and by the decades of systemic and structural racism at play.
We are and will always continue to be committed to providing a safe place to anyone who needs it, but above all else, to those who are in our care, who are primarily people of color.
Over the past few months, as we have dealt with the immense challenges presented by the COVID outbreak, I have been tired, weary, even exhausted. But throughout it all I have never felt hopeless. Today, I am sitting in the dichotomy of being both heartbroken and heartened.
I choose to hope that these terrible events will finally bring much needed and lasting change. But in order for that to happen, we need more than just headlines and outrage. We need long-term commitment.
Change is hard. Change takes time. Change is uncomfortable and it requires tenacity.
We stand in solidarity with the voices calling for racial justice, and equity. We stand in solidarity with the Black community and people of color across the United States. We stand in solidarity with our staff, our board, and our survivors. And we ask our white partners and supporters to make a long-term commitment to being uncomfortable, to being allies and to challenging white supremacy. We ask you to bring a racial equity lens to your workplace, your families, and your communities. We ask you to show up, listen, educate yourselves and act in solidarity.
Today, I grieve with you all. In the coming weeks and months, DASH will carve out dedicated time as a community to find intentional ways to use our voice to advance racial justice. We are and will always be committed to equality for all those in our care, and our community at large.
We stand together, ensuring home truly means safety for survivors and each other.
United Way: #9391 | CFC: #99008
District Alliance for Safe Housing | PO Box 91730 Washington, DC 20090 202-462-3274 | info@dashdc.org | 501(c)(3) | #71-1019574
AJ Dhaliwal
AJ Dhaliwal is Special Counsel at Sheppard Mullin LLP with over 12 years of experience helping lenders, non-bank financial institutions, and other companies providing financial products and services in a wide range of matters including government enforcement actions, civil litigation, regulatory examinations, and internal investigations.
AJ has extensive experience as a board member of mandatory, voluntary and affinity bar associations, and 501(c)(3) non-profits. AJ is a past treasurer and member of the Board of Governors of the DC Bar and is a volunteer with the Bar’s Advice and Referral Clinic and Landlord Tenant Resource Center. He has also served as pro bono counsel in cases through The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).
AJ is also a past-president of the South Asian Bar Association of Washington DC (SABA-DC). More recently, AJ serves on the Executive Board of the South Asian Bar Association of North America and on the Board of Directors of the Washington Council of Lawyers.
Rachel Schiller
Rachel Schiller is a member of the Senior Executive Service at the United States Department of State where she currently works to advance U.S. interests through international organizations, including the United Nations. She previously worked as a humanitarian and conflict resolution practitioner for various international and non-profit organizations.
Rachel joined the DASH board in 2023. She has a Masters and Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in international relations with a focus on international conflict resolution, as well as a BA in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania.
Patti DeBow
Patti is the President of ParsonsTKO, which helps mission-driven organizations maximize their marketing and technology investments through business process improvements, consultation, and data analysis. Previously, she held various leadership roles within Accenture, serving as a Strategy Senior Manager for Accenture Federal Services as well as Corporate Strategy and New Business.
Patti has served on the DASH Board of Directors since 2018. She previously served on various advisory boards including Arcadia University and the Human Rights Campaign.. She also volunteers at Ward 4 Mutual Aid, benefitting residents of the 4th Ward in Washington DC. Patti earned a BS in mathematics from Arcadia University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Katherine Feeney (Chair)
Katherine is the Principal and Founder of Beckett Square, which works primarily with private equity funds and other financial sponsors on topics including commercial due diligence, acquisitions and integrations, long- and short-term strategy, and performance improvement. Prior to starting Beckett Square, she was a Partner at Lock 8 Partners and a Manager at Bain & Company.
Katherine joined the DASH Board of Directors in 2021 and previously served as the treasurer and board member of 826DC, an organization dedicated to building the writing skills of DCPS students. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Beth Skorochod (Secretary)
Beth is the Director of Practice at CollaborateUp, an international consulting firm which advises businesses, governments, and non-profits on how to work together to solve big problems. She is a skilled facilitator, co-creator, and designer of inclusive approaches to international development and social innovation.
Previously, she served as a Communications and Advocacy Consultant at UNICEF and the National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS. Beth joined the DASH Board of Directors in 2021. She earned a BA in journalism from Marquette University and an MPH in Health Communication from The Johns Hopkins University. She is trained in design thinking at the Stanford Design School.
Amon Wilkes (Vice Chair & Treasurer)
Amon is a Senior Vice President at Neuberger Berman investment firm. Previously, he served as the Vice President at Franklin Templeton Investments and a Senior Research Analyst at Gabelli Asset Management. He joined the DASH Board of Directors in 2021 and currently serves as the Treasurer. He has also volunteered with the Ferocious Readers Center for Struggling and Dyslexic Students and Beyond the Boroughs, which focuses on scholarship opportunities for students.
Amon earned a BS and MA in electrical engineering from Columbia University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ashley Baquié
Most recently, Ashley served as the Chief Human Resources Officer at MorganFranklin Consulting, a management advisory firm that addresses complex finance, technology and business challenges for enterprise and growth clients. She has also held various leadership roles at Unisys, Software Performance Systems and the International Monetary Fund.
Ashley has served on the DASH Board of Directors since 2017, most recently as the Vice Chair and previously as the Board Secretary and the Chair of the Fundraising and Communications committees. In addition to her service at DASH, she is a board member of the HR Leadership Forum where she previously served as Board president. Ashley earned a BA in Russian and Soviet Studies from Tulane University.
Jeanne Simon
Throughout her 25+ year career, Jeanne has developed and implemented programs locally and internationally, partnering across organizations and sectors and communicating results to stakeholders. She has served on several nonprofit boards in the DC area, including leadership service terms as President, Treasurer, and Secretary, and participation in Finance, Governance, and Development committees.
Jeanne is currently the Global Corporate Citizenship Program Manager at Accenture. She serves on the board of Back on My Feet, a national organization that combats homelessness through the power of running along with employment and housing resources. A global citizen, Jeanne has lived and worked in South Africa and Cambodia, and she enjoys traveling and collaborating with international teams.
Sara Gibson
Sara Gibson is Co-Founder and CEO of 20°, a management consulting company that helps nonprofits, childcare providers and social enterprises extend income beyond philanthropy. A Saint Mary’s College Alumni, Sara is a strategic, collaborative, and high-energy social investment broker skilled in securing the necessary resources, relationships, and systems to create meaningful change. Her subject expertise include homelessness, early learning, arts, youth development, and District of Columbia politics.
Sara has deep nonprofit governance experience, serving as a former chair of Jubilee Jumpstart’s Board of Directors, Sitar Arts Center Leadership Council, and National Speech & Debate Association Board member. From grassroots and grasstops advocacy efforts to ending legacy practices that no longer serve current needs, Sara challenges the status quo to ensure organizations evolve to realize their boldest goals.
She is an EnVest Foundation 40 Under 40 honoree and a proud member of the Leadership Greater Washington class of 2015. An avid Francophile, home cook, and Polka fan, Sara lives in the District of Columbia with her husband and daughter.
A graduate of Yale University, The Wharton School, and John Hopkins, adds her duties as a board member at DASH to her existing list of impressive accomplishments.
Jason Dittrich
Jason is the Director of Business Development and Marketing at Mueller Associates, specializing in mechanical and electrical engineering, plumbing, and fire protection services. Previously, he held various leadership roles at multiple firms across the corporate commercial, architecture, engineering, and construction industry.
Jason has served on the DASH Board of Directors since 2020. He earned a BA in English and literature from Stevenson University, an MLA from The Johns Hopkins University. He’s currently pursuing with MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Marketing from The John Hopkins Carey Business School.
Jennifer Puterman
Jennifer is a National Partner, focused on Assurance Risk Management at BDO USA, LLP. Her industry experience includes software and technology, government contracting, biotech and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and distribution, and professional services. In this role she assists multinational organizations who have operations in Europe as well as clients seeking to expand their global footprint.
Jennifer joined the DASH Board of Directors in 2021. She earned a BS in mathematics, statistics, and accounting from Concordia University.
D. Shontrese Smith
Shontrese is a Senior Manager at MorganFranklin Consulting, a management advisory firm that works with businesses and government to address complex finance, technology, and business objectives.
Previously, she served as a Realtor in the DMV area and as a Management Consultant at Business Genetics, Alsbridge, and BearingPoint Consulting. Shontrese joined the DASH Board of Directors in 2021. She earned a BA in business administration from Loyola College in Maryland.
Board Chairman
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