Ashwin Parulkar, Senior Research Specialist
On October 27, 2022, City Council passed a bill (Int 0153-2022) that formalizes a housing stability program for survivors of domestic violence. Mayor Adams signed the bill into law on November 22, 2022. HELP USA wrote a policy brief that analyzed the literature on domestic violence programs and provisions in the bill.
The law ensures ‘low-barrier’ financial assistance and social services to survivors who earn incomes less than 300 percent of the federal poverty line. It authorizes government & community-based agencies to design and implement the program that will deliver services and financial assistance to eligible survivors, which include people experiencing homelessness.
Our brief evaluates how domestic violence support programs in other cities have fared in providing services to and increasing the well-being of homeless survivors, under such government & community-based agency arrangements.
The policy brief concludes that such programs effectively reduce violence and trauma-related symptoms of survivors, particularly when staff accurately assess client needs at intake and ensure appropriate services for them. Because the law mandates coordination between government and community-based agency to implement its provisions, the brief also concludes that consultations between these parties should occur regularly through the design and implementation stages of the policy. Consistent engagement among multiple stakeholders will be required to meet the needs of domestic violence survivors and comply with the legislation’s mandates.