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Category: DVAF

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DVAF

Shining the Light on Domestic Violence Awareness

As another October begins, so does Domestic Violence Awareness Month. While everything in the world turns pink for breast cancer awareness from luncheons to the NFL, domestic violence needs a bigger share of the spotlight. And this year, the timing could not be more urgent. Our movement is facing a perfect storm: a federal shutdown, budget cuts, and the rising costs of food, childcare, and basic needs.

While cuts to cancer research make the news and outrages the public, no one is talking about domestic violence services being slashed, advocates laid off, or their salaries being cut even further. An analogy that is often used, put your oxygen mask on before helping others with theirs, but what if your mask is empty?

I was recently reading a report where an oversight agency kept telling a domestic violence survivor to get dv services. But what does that mean? Does that mean calling a hotline and waiting for hours on the phone to try to get help, only to be told there is no room at the shelter, a months-long waiting list to receive services, or we cannot help you with that? But here is the thing: survivors are not stuck because they lack resilience. They are stuck because the safety net is stretched too thin and survivors are remaining in abusive situations because there is no way out. During COVID, when federal funds flowed, survivors had options, agencies expanded, and safety felt possible. If we could do it then, we can do it now, if we choose to invest.

And investment does not just mean government funding. Possibility is already everywhere. Churches, health care clinics, universities, and community centers — our partners in the Domestic Violence Assistance Fund and the Early Childhood Resiliency Fund — are showing what is possible when more people step in. Imagine if every business, every institution, every neighbor asked: what role can I play in survivor safety?

The answers do not have to be complicated-Challenge yourself to find out what support a domestic violence agency needs- do they need volunteers, do they need money (most will say yes to this!), do they need food, toiletries, or gift cards? Sponsor an event for their staff, offer scholarships for training, and most importantly support their fundraising events by purchasing tickets and bid outrageously on their auction items. Support them like you would  your child’s sports team! And keep doing it all year long!

Most of all, let us change the conversation. People proudly say they “survived cancer.” Survivors of domestic violence should get the same dignity and visibility. No shame, no silence, just humanity and recognition. Do not stop when Halloween rolls around. Survivors need and deserve more than a month of awareness. Survivors and those who work tirelessly to support them need your imagination, your resources, and your everyday action to build a world where safety is the norm, not the exception.

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DVAF

A Celebration of Hope- Domestic Violence Assistance Fund The Nation is Watching Harris County for Guidance

A Celebration of Hope - Domestic Violence Assistance Fund The Nation is Watching Harris County for Guidance

September 23rd, 2025, was a day of celebration for the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (HCDVCC) and its community partners as the Domestic Violence Assistance Fund (DVAF) Report was released. The Celebration of Hope was hosted by HCDVCC with the help of Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones and her wonderful staff at the Steve Raddack Community Center.  Over 70 people gathered to hear Commissioner Briones speak about the tremendous impact this fund has had on Harris County and domestic violence survivors.  She praised the amazing work of HCDVCC and the 19 Community Partners who use the DVAF to make a difference in the lives of so many.

Barbie Brashear, the Executive Director of HCDVCC, went on to give a brief history of the origins of the DVAF from CARES dollars and ARPA funds to now being a line item in the Harris County Budget! This would not have been possible without the tremendous support of Harris County Judge Lina Hildago and Commissioners Rodney Ellis, Adrian Garcia, Tom Ramsey, Lesley Briones and of course their hardworking, behind the scenes, making it happen staff members!  Before some of the findings were released, a moving video was shown of DVAF partners talking about the impact DVAF had on their clients.  There was not a dry eye in the house at the end!  Barbie then revealed that in 2024, 1204 households were served with 3,331 individuals supported with 59% of them being children under the age of 18.   Residents of all four Harris County Precincts benefited from the DVAF.   The top needs of those who received DVAF were food (20%), daily living (17%) and rent (17%).   The community impact of these funds can reduce strains on systems, including Emergency Rooms, Law Enforcement and Emergency Services which in turn can create stronger and safer communities by reducing recidivism and decreasing intimate partner homicides. DVAF also invests in long-term stability that can build a healthy Harris County. Barbie ended her remarks with a Call to Action- Give survivors safety and choice, Break barriers and Build futures, Invest in lifesaving solutions, Support local families in crisis, Join a coordinated response, Be part of systemic change, and finally Act now– we must respond in REAL TIME.

Dr. Leila Wood, the Director of Research and Evaluation at the Center for Violence Prevention at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) McGovern Medical School also joined in the celebration by presenting the highlights of the preliminary findings from her research project- Harris County DVAF: Examination of the Impact of Flexible Financial Assistance supported by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women (OVW). Her study is the among the first U.S. based longitudinal study of flexible financial assistance administered by domestic violence focused agencies to collect survivor-centered evidence about the impact of flexible financial funding.   This study is a longitudinal, collaborative, mixed methods designed to examine the use and impact of DVAF for survivors to identify effective implementation strategies among the programs administering the funds.  The study’s goals are to understand the impact of DVAF, explore factors that impact DVAF’s impact, and examine program administration for implementation guidance.

The project has recruited participants from the participating partners by having them fill out a survey and then interviews were conducted of some of the participants as well as the staff at the partner agencies.  The preliminary findings indicate the top ways recipients have found about DVAF was from friends and family (24%), other social service agencies (20%), police/law enforcement (18%) and online research (18%). The findings also reveal that 97% of the participants are women with 83.2% having children under the age of 18 and 71.8% have experienced homelessness due to domestic violence or conflict in their relationship in the last 6 months. The findings revealed that the funds are used for economic, education and employment purposes which include but are not limited to job training, transportation to jobs, laptops for school or work, childcare, and clearing up debt related to barriers for rental or credit history, some have even started small businesses. DVAF also addresses safety and housing related needs as well as family and children’s needs along with health-related needs like medications and counseling. 90% of those surveyed reported that the DVAF helped with their safety. As one survivor put it “There is no doubt he would have killed me if these funds were not available.”

The biggest reveal was the impact DVAF had on the staff that were able to distribute these funds.  Survivors felt connected to and were treated fairly by staff members they interacted with.  The staff interviewed for this study felt they were able to make an impact on the lives of their clients and DVAF allowed them to do their jobs better by addressing critical needs of clients that are not funded in any other way and by adding another tool to the toolbox for client’s safety.  As one advocated stated “So, I mean for me, it just helps, it kinda makes me feel really nice, because it’s like, I’m knowing that this person’s gonna have somewhere to sleep tonight, and they’re gonna be safe.  Or this person’s gonna have gas to be able to leave in the middle of the night as we safety plan to, or they’re gonna have money to feed their little baby for the next couple of days while their food stamps hit.”

Dr. Woods ended her presentation by talking about how the nation is looking to see how Harris County implemented the DVAF so they can try and replicate it in their community.  Many communities have tried but few, if any, have had the success that Harris County has had with DVAF.  The hope is that the County continues to recognize the importance of and the need to keep DVAF funded!

Click this link for more information and to enjoy pictures from the event
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Children Community DVAF

Update on the Domestic Violence Assistance Fund

Domestic Violence Assistance Fund-Update

By: Shannon Falk,
Project Manager

As an agency that convenes the community to discover opportunities to improve services, Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council convened a very special meeting of community stakeholders and survivors in 2016 to look at opportunities to expand the menu of services offered for families affected by domestic violence, and to increase victims’ access to services and safety. This discussion was a collective opportunity for our community to think about innovative ways to go beyond the way services were currently being offered. It was also an opportunity to hear directly from survivors about the needs and challenges they faced in the pursuit of safety.

The work of the community stakeholders led to the idea of developing a flexible funding project that could prevent families who experience domestic violence from entering homelessness and reduce the amount of time families need emergency shelter services. This in turn could prioritize increased access to services, meeting basic needs, increased economic stability, and increased safety.

Harris County Commissioners and their staff began meeting with the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council in the Spring of 2020 to address the increasing challenges for those fleeing domestic violence. Leadership at Harris County recognized that the pandemic would increase the needs of victims of domestic violence, so the Domestic Violence Assistance Fund (DVAF) was established first with CARES ACT funding and later with ARPA funding. Administered by the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (HCDVCC), the Domestic Violence Assistance Fund provided flexible financial relief to domestic violence survivors through community-based organizations. The goal of the Fund is to rapidly and thoughtfully aid victims of domestic violence and their families with increasing access to services and improving safety. Organizations can do so by providing basic needs assistance (e.g., food) to reduce food insecurity, flexible emergency assistance to ensure safety from domestic violence, housing emergency financial assistance to limit homelessness, childcare assistance to facilitate continued employment, and daily living supplies and other needs (e.g., personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies). Funding for evaluation of the project was included. The first round of funding was evaluated in 2021 and showed that victims who were fleeing had increased access to safety due to the funding that was provided through the Fund.

In 2022, Harris County Commissioners awarded HCDVCC an additional DVAF grant for approximately $4.7 million from ARPA funding to continue the work of the flexible funding project. Building on the success of the ARPA funded project, Harris County Commissioners created a line-item in the general county budget to award HCDVCC $1.5 million to continue the flexible funding DVAF project for all of Harris County. This marked a historic victory for victims of domestic violence to have an intentionally targeted and funded item within the County’s budget. HCDVCC continues to partner with 19 organizations to disperse throughout the County. Many of the organizations that participated in the fund focused specifically and solely on serving domestic violence survivors; however, there is a mix of grass roots organizations helping underserved communities as well as an agency serving human trafficking survivors.
Flexible funding has proven to be a low barrier, quick response approach to helping families with financial assistance that could prevent them from entering the homeless system as well as serving as a tool to help a family become safer. The concept of flexible funding support is being used across the nation by other domestic violence service providers, and it has been evaluated as a proven strategy to improve safety for survivors.

Harris County survivors have been able to use the funds for needs related to childcare, transportation (car repairs, car payments, and gas), utilities (electricity, gas, and phone bills), moving (deposits, furniture, and other moving expenses), and safety (security cameras and ring doorbell systems). In the past, some of these expenses would not have been regarded by participating agencies as “basic needs.” However, the significance of some of those items (security systems) to the well-being and mental health of survivors can be life changing. The top category of assistance provided was for food assistance which accounted for 20% of all disbursements, followed by daily living expenses and rental assistance, with 17% of total disbursements each. It is also worth noting that the research study being conducted by UTHealth has found that many clients receiving DVAF assistance are reporting a greater level of trust in the advocates that they are working with. This is a critical finding that demonstrates this flexible funding is not only helping stabilize the survivors with their immediate needs but also building stronger relationships with the staff and agencies who are assisting them which strengthens their support system and in turn their long-term stability.

In 2024, the Fund served 1,207 households with a total of 3,331 individuals within those households. A total of 2,558 households and 7,317 individuals have been served in 2023-2024. By partnering with community-based organizations (CBOs) throughout the county, the Fund was able to reach a wide range of diverse and marginalized communities.

  • Most survivors had children; 59% of all individuals served were children under 18 years old. This equates to 1,965 children served in 2024 and total of 4,398 children served in 2023-2024.
  • Most clients served were renters (64%) and another 32% were living in a shelter or other/unknown situation, while the minority (4%) were homeowners.
  • The clients served were all low income and below 60% AMI with 50% of survivors having no reported income. Other vulnerabilities included 47% of households considered uninsured, and 20% experiencing homelessness.
  • Most of the survivors served were female (96%); with 3% male survivors served and a remaining 1% who identified their gender as other.

While some of the survivors that were served lived near the DVAF organizations that served them, there were clients who came from almost every zip code in Harris County. Zip codes 77036, 77449 and 77077 were the areas where the greatest number of DVAF distributions occurred. There are a number of partner organizations that are located in the 77036-zip code or in the near vicinity and zip code 77077 is close to this zip code as well. 77449 is located north of I-10 and may be a result of trying to reach clients from the northern part of the county despite having minimal partner agencies there.

HCDVCC believes in the power of evaluation to give us the evidence and information necessary to make good decisions for future program investment. It is the best way to ensure that clients are being served effectively as well as ensure that these program dollars are put to good use. Briefly mentioned earlier, HCDVCC has employed Dr. Leila Wood, Professor and Director of Research and Evaluation, Center for Violence Prevention with the McGovern Medical School at UT Health Houston to design and implement a full evaluation of the DVAF funding. Work has included securing IRB approval, designing of survey instruments and tools, and interviews with participating agencies. Connections with all participating agencies of the Fund were made in August 2024 and the survey link was provided to those agencies to distribute to new clients receiving DVAF assistance. Some preliminary findings include:

Improving Survivor Safety

  • Addressing security concerns (Ring cameras, door locks, other safety technology)
  •  Gain access to housing and transportation that allows survivors to leave harm-doing partners
  • Giving survivors their own financial resources
  • Stabilizing transportation access to criminal justice and safety remedies
  • Pay for legal fees for divorce, custody, or other civil remedies

Increasing Survivor Economic Stability

  •  Increasing housing stability (paying rent, deposits, application fees)
  • Facilitating economic empowerment and stability (job training, education, computers for work at home jobs). Having seed funds to start small business
  • Paying for childcare
  • Transportation (fixing or getting a car) to go to work or school

Improving Survivor Physical and Mental Health

  • Reducing stress
  • Empowering survivors to meet their needs
  • Having resources for food
  • Having funds for appointments, testing, and other medical and MH procedures
  • Funding for medications while awaiting insurance coverage

Stabilizing the Needs of Children

  • Pays for child supplies and basic needs
  • Allows for funds for child mental and physical health needs while insurance is pending

Facilitating Greater Connection and Trust

  • Which means engagement in other helpful services (counseling, legal aid, economic empowerment support)
  • Can reduce feelings of isolation and depression

Reducing Occupational Stress of Advocates

  • Advocates can better meet survivor needs
  • Advocates have more avenues to help people improve their own safety
  • There is a clear process for the program, but it is flexible to both survivor and advocate use

The Harris County DVAF project is serving as a national model for how flexible funding can increase and expand avenues and pathways to safety that are victim-defined and survivor-focused. A recent case study highlighting this work was developed and presented by the National Safe Housing Alliance. This study has been shared with the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau, in collaboration with the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. It is a beautiful example of how a community can be creative and focused on meeting the needs of those who have experienced trauma and amplifying how a community can intentionally focus efforts for meeting the needs of BIPOC communities.

Thank you to the Harris County Commissioners and staff members who worked to ensure that this project gained the support and confidence to meet critical needs of our most vulnerable community members. Thank you to the partners who work diligently to find ways to support families in our community. And most importantly, thank you to victims and survivors who show great courage in stepping out to seek assistance, increase safety, and find pathways for healing and hope. We are inspired by your courage and persistence.

Click here to learn more about the Domestic Violence Assistance Fund