It has been 10-years since DASH first opened its doors to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in the District. When DASH was first founded, there were less than 50 beds in the city dedicated specifically for victims of domestic violence. Survivors with multiple barriers, including mental health and addiction issues, had even fewer options for safe housing options. The vision of DASH was, and still is, to create a culture where safe housing is a human right share by everyone.

In honor of our 10-year anniversary, we thought it would be appropriate to pay homage to our beginnings and how we have grown to become the largest dedicated safe housing provider for survivors and their families in the District.

In…

2006: DASH was founded by current CEO, Peg Hacskaylo, to address the lack of safe housing options for survivors of domestic violence.

2007: The Housing Resource Center, DASH’s first program, opens offering the first one-stop shop to help survivors access safe housing throughout the District.

2008: The Empowerment Project opened to provide scattered site transitional–to-permanent safe housing  for survivors and their families.

2009: Temporary housing program, Huruma Place, opened doubling the number of safe beds in the District from 48 to 96.

2010: The Cornerstone Program opened, replacing Huruma Place as the District’s largest safe housing facility.

2013: The Survivor Resilience Fund began its’ first stages of development. The program currently provides emergency financial relief for survivors of domestic violence to maintain their current housing.

2015: The National Alliance for Safe Housing (NASH) is launched to provide nationwide training and technical assistance to improve access to safe housing for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

2016: Evaluations of DASH’s programs and model demonstrate dramatic results for improved survivor safety, empowerment, and housing stability.

Today…

2017: DASH celebrates 10 years as the largest dedicated safe housing provider for survivors and their families in Washington, DC!

Although there is still much more work to be done, we cannot help but celebrate all the successes we have had over the past 10 years. Here’s to many more safe nights, many more trained advocates, many more partnerships built, and to another 10 years.