Domestic Violence And Homelessness Essay

Domestic Violence and Homelessness. Domestic violence is greatly on the rise and is one of the leading causes of homelessness among women in today’s society. A poor economic background, combined with unsafe shelters, lack of help from communities and long waiting lists to get into temporary housing, all leaves a victim of domestic violence much more vulnerable to homelessness. A woman with no education is more likely to become dependent on her partner; creating an unequal power relationship. The victim may feel she has no voice because she is not bringing money into the house and if she does decide to leave there is nowhere to go because of her lack of resources. Poverty limits a woman’s choices and it makes it harder to escape
a violent relationship. Finding a minimum wage job at Wal-Mart or JCPenny would be her only option for employment, and that job would never allow her to make enough money to support herself and her children. She becomes easily trapped in her frightening existence and is forced to stay with her abuser because of lack of money. She has no control and when she does try to exert some independence the violence escalates and she is forced to back down. When a victim of abuse finally does run, life on the streets and in shelters may increase her vulnerability to new abusive relationships.
Most shelters require a person to enter early in the evening and stay all night until the morning. A woman could find herself surrounded by unscrupulous people because shelters are full of alcoholics, drug addicts and criminals. A victim of domestic violence can become easy prey to predators; that use shelters as hunting grounds for the weak and unprotected. Most workers in the shelters are not trained to deal with violence; and if she is in current danger some shelters may not even take her in; believing her abuser could stalk her and come to the shelter and create problems for others; making her a victim all over
again. When children are involved, this makes it particularly hard for a woman to leave. No mother wants to leave her children unprotected; with no roof over their head and no warm bed to sleep in at night. Standing in line every night outside a shelter; just waiting for a bed, is too awful to contemplate. If the victim’s children are pre- teen males, they would not even be allowed to come into the shelter with her. Her young son would be forced to sleep on the streets because the men’s shelter won’t take him in; therefore the mother and her children would most likely end up literally sleeping outside or in a vehicle. This is the very thing her abuser will hold over her head; if she leaves she will be out on the streets unprotected and helpless, with nowhere to go and no one to help her. Homeless shelters need to have programs that provide education and resources to help victims get back on their feet; maybe hiring domestic violence experts; who can provide supportive services for women plagued by abuse and poverty.
Even if victims of abuse are provided with housing, they are unlikely to stay away from the abuser and remain off the streets, unless they have access to continued treatment and services. In addition to housing, there should be more programs that offer services such as physical health care, education and employment opportunities, peer support, and daily living and money management skills training. These services would be crucial to abuse victims, giving them the confidence they need, and to prevent homelessness in the
future. Experiencing the loss of a home as well as the trauma of a violent relationship; compounded further by uncertainty; waiting for the possibility of housing, all weigh heavily on a victim if they choose to leave an abuser. Counseling is very important if the victim ever wants to begin a life again. A person can never truly heal when their life is all about survival; meeting basic life needs like food, shelter and finding a safe place for her children to sleep. Getting help form a mental health provider may take second place in her mind; therefore a homeless shelter should automatically provide these health services. Living a successful life should not be out of anyone’s reach, especially if communities started more programs to help victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence, when perpetrated by someone that the victim loved and relied upon at one time, is the worst kind of abuse to suffer. Too often the only choice a victim may have is homelessness, and no mother should have to choose between being beaten and being able to feed and provide shelter for her children. The only way to prevent homelessness among domestic violence victims is through education; helping victims get out of poverty and being more self-sufficient; having quality community outreach programs that teach life skills. Homelessness is a very undesirable condition, both for the people it affects and for society in general. The many negative effects of homelessness increase the longer a person continues living on the streets, including more health problems from living in filthy shelters or in cars and other places not meant for habitation. Only when public funders stop being reluctant to invest in homelessness prevention strategies, will the weak members of our society have a real chance at living a productive life. It is the duty of everyone in communities to help those less fortunate than themselves, especially if those individuals are victims of the crime of domestic violence. When all members of a society are healthy, happy and productive, only then will homelessness be greatly reduced.