Intern Archives - The District Alliance for Safe Housing

Intern Profile Part 5: Kylie Musolf

Kylie Musolf is a graduating senior at American University, earning a Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She has been the development intern since January 2014. We asked her a few questions to showcase both how amazing she is and the impact she’s made at DASH.

Why did you choose to do your internship at DASH?: “I was drawn to DASH because of the voluntary service model and the innovation in housing support. I recognized that DASH was an organization that paid careful attention to the different ways that domestic and sexual violence affects the lives of individuals and families, and really appreciate the multiplicity of angles that DASH takes to support survivors.”

What social justice issue are you most passionate about?: “I don’t know if this counts as social justice, but I’m deeply passionate about trauma informed care. I think a crucial part of any well-functioning community is to be able to engage in productive support for trauma survivors. This is another huge component of why I was so drawn to DASH!”

What has been your favorite moment while working at DASH?: “My favorite moment working at DASH was when, at a staff training day, all of the staff were asked to introduce themselves and present a fun fact. Normally when a group is asked for a fun fact they come up with answers like “I like soccer” or “I have a dog” but DASH staff has some ridiculous and hilarious fun facts. I just knew in that moment that I was very lucky to be part of this group.”

What are your plans for the future?: “I am moving back home to Michigan for the summer after my internship with DASH ends for a job with the Council of Michigan Foundations. Next is hopefully a doctoral program in philosophy!”

What is your spirit animal?: “My spirit animal is Lil Bub. A very official Buzzfeed quiz has confirmed this.”

“Kylie’s passion and readiness to take on any task contribute to her many skills. She is dynamic and has been a true ambassador to the DASH mission. It’s been a pleasure to work with Kylie!”

“It has been really great getting to know Kylie these past months, she is extremely motivated and strives to do the BEST for DASH at all times. She will be missed.”

Intern Profile Part 2: Michaela

Michaela Henderson is one of four graduate interns currently working with DASH. She’s originally from Houston, Texas, and she attended the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is now pursuing her Masters in Social Work at Howard University and she is terrified of birds. We asked her a few questions to showcase both how amazing she is and the impact she’s made at DASH.

Why did you choose to do your internship at DASH?: “I realized that most of my research in my MSW program was on domestic violence in the DC area and really wanted to not only research about DV but also be apart of an organization that was making a difference. I looked into different programs in the area that worked with survivors and really thought DASH was a great fit for me.”
What social justice issue are you most passionate about?: “African American Women’s Empowerment is what I’m mostly passionate about. I believe that as an African American woman myself it is so important to uplift others so that they can know that someone is in their corner rooting for you. I’m also very passionate about domestic violence issues and being here at DASH has opened my eyes to the issue even more.”
What has been your favorite thing about working at DASH: “Knowing that I am able to meet with such wonderful and beautiful women during a time that may be difficult for them and allowing for me to work with them is an amazing feeling for me.”
What are your plans for after DASH? “To change the world!”
Spirit Animal: “I would be a butterfly because I believe the transformation to the final masterpiece of a butterfly is pretty intriguing!”

What DASH staff say about Michaela:

“Michaela has come in and essentially helped to create what a year-long clinical internship looks like. She has grown into her role as a therapist and is appreciated by the residents.”

“I appreciate Michaela’s grounded presence”

“Michaela is committed to the domestic violence movement. You can see it in the way she interacts with residents and her presence each day.”

Exploring the DASH Model – Voluntary Services

Langan Denhard is our Health and Wellness Intern at the Cornerstone site.
She is a senior at the University of Maryland studying Community Health.

Abusive relationships are characterized by an imbalance of power and control. The existence of transitional housing programs like DASH allows survivors and their children to leave a controlling and disempowering situation and move toward financial and emotional independence.

Most transitional housing programs are not like DASH. Though well-intentioned, many other organizations rely on a model that can be controlling. They may require residents to attend mandatory services every week in order to stay in the program—even if the services don’t meet their identified needs. Some organizations may also refuse housing to survivors who struggle with mental health and substance use issues—problems that research has proven to be directly correlated with experiencing intimate partner violence.

Though the DASH framework comes with unique challenges, it’s pretty simple to explain: safe housing is a right, not a privilege. As a domestic violence program, we won’t turn anyone away because of the challenges they face linked to or exacerbated by homelessness or domestic violence. So everyone comes into our program with their own experiences, and we just don’t have the power to tell them what they need to do.

This gives us the freedom to offer varied services and groups based on the residents’ own requests and self-identified needs. We advertise each event by putting flyers and sign-up sheets around the building and sometimes directly reminding residents about the opportunity if we feel like they would benefit. If some groups aren’t as widely attended, that may reflect to us what some of the residents feel like they need. If even just one of the residents finds the program useful, that is reason enough to continue offering it. Above all, we see our residents as people with their own growing sense of agency whose decisions deserve respect and understanding.

The residents who choose to attend our programs (which include but are not limited to: acupuncture, weight lifting, grief groups, and resume workshops) report finding them effective and helpful. One of our residents said she felt like DASH was a place of healing and, “the purpose of coming here is to center everything around ourselves,” and move forward. She regularly attends and enjoys our parenting classes. We are currently evaluating and changing our services based on what feedback we get from residents.

Another resident, who had previously been in a program that provided mandatory services, said she appreciated that at DASH, “if you’re not feeling well you don’t have to go, and if you’re busy you don’t need to attend [the groups].” Her favorite DASH group is “Let’s Talk!” where the residents can get together and talk about life and the unique challenges they face.

Our model seems more like common sense than innovation—not only is it based on respect, it’s proven to work. A study of different transitional housing models by the National Network to End Domestic Violence showed that women receiving services felt that voluntary programs were more effective. Women reported the most satisfaction when the advocacy staff provided options, support, and most of all—the ability to make their own decisions.

Sources:

National Network to End Domestic Violence Study

CDC: IPV consequences

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