We are excited to share some news! DASH is launching a new initiative called the Safe Nights Fund.
Why did we launch this new initiative?
Emergency shelters are chronically full due to COVID-19, forcing families to choose between homelessness or staying in a violent home.
DASH has been receiving calls from organizations asking for our help to keep families safe while they await placement in more permanent housing. We are addressing this crisis by launching a Safe Nights Fund to safely house families with a hotel stay and support services.
DASH’s flexible funding program, the Survivor Resilience Fund, allows us to quickly offer support – such as the Safe Nights support – for whatever survivors need to prevent homelessness and keep them safe. This innovative homeless prevention resource can swiftly prevent survivors from falling through the cracks at the cost of their lives. In addition, sources of hotel vouchers can take days to access; such delays are retraumatizing for survivors in danger.
What is the Safe Nights Fund?
The Safe Nights Fund will offer the housing, transportation, and wraparound services these at-risk survivors and families deserve for their safety and peace of mind. The hotel stay is lifesaving while survivors and their families work with our Advocates to develop a service plan and connect to housing through programs such as the Rapid Rehousing Program.
- Survivors are immediately connected to an emergency hotel stay
- DASH Advocates work to connect families to more stable housing.
- On average, this process takes 5 days — not a long time but an eternity when you don’t have a safe place to call home.
What can the Safe Nights Fund do for survivors and families in our community?
Having a stable place to live and daily living essentials is life-changing for survivors, many of whom have been in crisis for a long period of time, in some cases living out of a car with their children.
We are asking for your help to get it up and running as quickly as possible. Together, we can help survivors of domestic and sexual violence find safety, without hesitation, in their moment of need.
