Women's Advocates

Shelter-based advocacy services while in shelter, residents are encouraged to start their healing journey by working with our family & legal support Advocates and attending our mental health and wellness programming. Our crisis resource Advocates handle resident requests at the front desk 24/7 and provide crisis line callers with referrals to emergency shelter, community resources, safety planning services, and emotional support. In fy2022-2023, 546 people received our crisis interventions and shelter referral services via the crisis line. Regular support groups help residents cope with the trauma of their past and work to build positive futures for themselves and their families. Our mental health & wellness counselor teaches self-care and mindfulness techniques that center the mind, body, and spirit. Our family & legal support Advocates work with victim-survivors to create personal goal plans and work within the legal system to write orders for protection and negotiate lease terminations.

Shelter food & facilities for 49 years, providing safe shelter for victim-survivors of domestic violence has been at the heart of Women's Advocates' mission. Our shelter space consists of 15 bedrooms, 7 resident bathrooms, and a commercial kitchen where three meals each day are prepared for our residents seeking shelter and safety from abusive situations. Residents have access to laundry facilities, personal computers, a living room, dining room, and secure children's playground. Our emergency shelter served 169 individuals in fy22-23, including 81 adults and 87 children with an average length of stay of 78 days. Our shelter provides a secure, safe home for our residents as they begin the healing process.

Housing stability services our housing stability program utilizes a broad array of government and private funding to provide housing navigation and eviction prevention services to residents of our shelter and victim-survivors in the community experiencing or at-risk of homelessness. Our housing stability Advocates work with participants to remove barriers to housing, negotiate with landlords to find safe, stable rentals that participants can afford, and provide participants with flexible financial assistance for expenses for up to 24 months. In fy22-23, our housing stability program served 191 individuals in 82 households.

Education & outreach Women's Advocates is committed to preventing domestic violence in our communities through virtual and in person education and community-based advocacy. In 2022-2023, our education and outreach program trained 2,963 community members to recognize the warning signs, dynamics, and impact of abuse through 109 events. In addition to these trainings, webinars, and online support groups, the outreach team continued to provide community-based dv advocacy through the pop-up advocacy initiative. Pop-up advocacy events are held twice weekly at the rondo community outreach library and the saint paul opportunity center. In fy2022-2023, pop-up advocacy connected 1,275 community members with resources, dv education, and advocacy.

Sheila wellstone children's programthe children who arrive at our shelter accompanied by their caregivers have experienced trauma and often witnessed or been the victim of violent acts. The sheila wellstone children's program is committed to offering safety planning, school support, special activities, and drop-in childcare services catering to the special needs of survivors and their children. Children's program staff work with each child and their caregiver at the shelter to nurture each child's development. Staff also provide advocacy services for children in our housing stability program to ensure children and youth are enrolled in school and have all the resources they need to thrive after crisis. In fy2022-2023, the children's program provided services to 196 children staying in our emergency shelter and in the community through our housing stability program.