By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Providing safe housing is the fundamental first step in helping people develop healthy lives after leaving an abusive relationship, the director of Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services said.
Jennifer Hecker spoke on a recent edition of the Morning Blend on the importance of Options' Housing First Model.
"Housing First is a national model that is based on the idea that once someone is first housed safely, then they're able to address the other issues and problems in their lives," Hecker said.
"The goal is as quickly as possible to move them into safe, permanent housing."
Housing someone addresses the immediate need for safety and provides a quiet space in one's home to heal, Hecker said. It also helps victims begin to regain their independence.
She said domestic violence victims are often forced to leave their abusers and their homes with only the clothes on their backs.
She said the Housing First Model is low-barrier. Victims don't have to prove sobriety or employment.
Issues such as substance abuse disorder or unemployment often lead to homelessness. Until that person can secure safe housing, they can't deal with the root causes of their issues, Hecker said.
People come to the Options Housing First Program in various ways. For example, a person might need emergency shelter and be placed in the Options shelter in Hays.
Once someone is in the shelter, Options workers begin developing a housing plan with that client, Hecker said.
"We help them look for housing that is affordable, safe, healthy, that will pass good inspections and that anyone would be proud to live in," Hecker said.
Finding affordable housing in Hays and other even more rural areas of northwest Kansas can be challenging, Hecker said. The rental market is tight.
"There is not enough affordable low-income housing for people," Hecker said. "That's something we need to address in our community."
Lack of transportation is also an issue in small communities where there's no public transportation, she said.
In addition to transition advocates, Options relies on partnerships with landlords and housing advocacy groups.
"Sometimes our clients lose housing and are evicted from their apartments or rental properties because domestic violence happened there," Hecker said. "Some of what we do is educate landlords about the laws. It is illegal to evict a domestic violence victim from their house because domestic violence happened."
Options offer financial assistance for people who need housing. They can pay back payments. Hecker said often, domestic violence victims' credit histories or rental histories are ruined as a byproduct of their abusers' financial abuse.
Options can pay rent for victims for several months to allow them to get back on their feet. They work with other agencies to assist with security deposits.
Some of these strategies are meant to help domestic violence victims stay in their homes and create more stability for them and their children, Hecker said.
"For the first time in a long time, for a lot of people, it's the first time they've been able to turn on the radio, crank it up loud on a Saturday morning," Hecker said, "and dance around the living room with their kids without feeling fear of waking up the beast."
"You can decide to leave your dishes in the sink overnight and not worry someone is going to drag you by your hair and shove your face in the sink."
She added, "That resilience, that independence, that ability to live and just breathe is so important and a critical part of healing from trauma."
Options cover an 18-county area across northwest Kansas. Leaving their homes to come to an emergency shelter in Hays is not always the best option for victims and their families.
If victims can stay in their homes, kids don't have to change schools, and the victims may be able to keep jobs if they are working. They may also be closer to friends and family who can provide support.
"It really gives folks an opportunity to rebuild their lives and finally, once and for all, stop that isolation they're experiencing," Hecker said.
Homelessness leaves domestic violence victims vulnerable, she said. Hecker recalled a woman who lost custody of her children because she was homeless. Seven years later, she still hasn't regained custody of her children.
Providing safe housing for mothers and children helps break the cycle of abuse, Hecker said.
Community members can assist Options in their work to provide safe housing to domestic violence victims, Hecker said.
She asks landlords to look at the affordability of rents and also consider the safety of domestic violence victims when looking at housing waiting lists.
"Stable housing prevents further violence," Hecker said. "Safe housing can save lives."
She also encouraged other housing assistance agencies to minimize barriers to housing so domestic violence victims can be rehoused quickly.
Hecker said advocacy agencies have changed their philosophy on housing during the last decade to the Housing First Model.
"Ten years ago our philosophy was if get someone into a house and they don't have a job, that's money down the drain," she said. "They're going to come right back. Of course, they're going to come right back because we haven't addressed the issue that brought them to be homeless in the first place.
"I can't imagine dealing with trauma and trying to heal from trauma, and all the while, I'm wondering where am I going to sleep tonight ... where are my children going to sleep tonight," she said. "You can't move forward when that is your biggest need."
Donors can give monetary gifts to Options to support its housing and shelter programs. Options also regularly shares a wish list of items needed for the emergency shelter on its Facebook page.
Options raises about 30 percent of its funds at this time of year. Cash donations fill gaps that are not supported through grants.
How to get help
If you are a survivor of domestic or sexual violence, you can receive help in a variety of ways from Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Service. The agency serves 18 counties in northwest Kansas.
You can walk into an Options office at 2716 Plaza, Hays, or 1480 W. Fourth, Colby. You can call Options' 24-hour helpline at 1-800-794-4624 or text HOPE to 847411.
The Options website, https://help4abuse.org/, offers a live chat option or video conference with an advocate.
The website has a safe escape button that allows you to close out of the website and erase your cookies quickly, so anyone on the computer after you will not be able to see that you have been on the website.
Options also has a free app for Android and Apple devices called "My Mobile Options."