Home to the web's top dating experts. Here you can search all of our experts' advice.
Close
Domestic Violence Resources Directory
If you’re struggling to cope in an abusive relationship, you’re not alone. Experts estimate that over 10 million Americans are affected by domestic violence every year. Whether it’s physical or verbal abuse, it’s not OK, and you can take action to stop it. These vetted helplines are here for you.
DV Leap
Domestic Violence Resource
How We Help:DV LEAP provides a stronger voice for justice by fighting to overturn unjust trial court outcomes, advancing legal protections for victims of domestic violence and their children through expert appellate advocacy, training lawyers, psychologists and judges on best practices, and spearheading domestic violence litigation in the Supreme Court.
History:
DV LEAP was founded in 2003 to respond to an urgent need for expert appellate litigation to reverse unjust trial court ruling ...s and to protect the legal rights of women and children victimized by family violence. DV LEAP’s Founder had been litigating domestic violence and participating in extensive local and national law reform efforts for decades. Yet she and her colleagues began to see advocacy for battered women meet with increasing resistance in the courts.
In 2002 a D.C. Court of Appeals decision, United States v. Ba, concerning when and whether Civil Protection Orders (“CPOs”) can be enforced, engendered deep concern in the domestic violence community, and inspired DV LEAP’s Founder to intervene. This intervention resulted in an alliance with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and 6 domestic violence organizations, and ultimately resulted in an improved appellate decision.
This case crystallized the Founder’s recognition that the voices of domestic violence victims had been virtually absent at the appellate level and that speaking for victims at this higher level was critically needed to enforce their rights. She decided to launch DV LEAP.Read More »
How We Help:GFW is a non-profit organization dedicated to those who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), those at risk for PTSD and those who care for traumatized individuals.
History:
GFW helps everyone with PTSD by sharing ideas, improving morale and reducing the stigma of the diagnosis and its treatment. W ...e have articles written by authorities in the field, poetry and art gallery for trauma survivors, peer support pal network, personal coping and inspirational stories, Q-and-As, videos, book reviews, list of retreats for survivors, global list of trauma survivor support groups and other educational materials and resources.Read More »
How We Help:While the majority of domestic violence victims are women, abuse of men happens far more often than you'd probably expect.
History:
If you're a man in an abusive relationship, it's important to know that you're not alone. It happens to men from all cultures ... and all walks of life. Figures suggest that as many as one in three victims of domestic violence are male. However, men are often reluctant to report abuse by women because they feel embarrassed, or they fear they won't be believed, or worse, that police will assume that since they're male they are the perpetrator of the violence and not the victim.
An abusive wife or partner may hit, kick, bite, punch, spit, throw things, or destroy your possessions. To make up for any difference in strength, she may attack you while you're asleep or otherwise catch you by surprise. She may also use a weapon, such as a gun or knife, or strike you with an object, abuse or threaten your children, or harm your pets. Of course, domestic abuse is not limited to violence. Your spouse or partner may also:
Verbally abuse you, belittle you, or humiliate you in front of friends, colleagues, or family, or on social media sites.
Be possessive, act jealous, or harass you with accusations of being unfaithful.
Take away your car keys or medications, try to control where you go and who you see.
Try to control how you spend money or deliberately default on joint financial obligations.
Make false allegations about you to your friends, employer, or the police, or find other ways to manipulate and isolate you.
Threaten to leave you and prevent you from seeing your kids if you report the abuse. Read More »
How We Help:Because of our extensive work with homeless women and families, HELP USA has become a leader in the field of domestic violence services.
History:
HELP USA has been an innovator since our founder, Andrew Cuomo opened our first residence in 1986. Under his leadership, HELP ... USA created our supportive housing model, packaging services with shelter, opening HELP 1 for homeless families in Brooklyn.
Since its founding, HELP USA has combined innovation with management excellence, becoming a national leader in both homeless prevention and a developer of permanent supportive housing for special needs population such as homeless families, veterans, and survivors of domestic violence.
HELP USA’s 38 locations serve communities across the United States including Nevada, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York City, Buffalo, and Washington D.C.
The impact of HELP USA’s work is to build empowered communities where everyone has a place to call home.Read More »
How We Help:INCITE! Women, Gender Non-Conforming, and Trans people of Color* Against Violence is a national activist organization of radical feminists of color advancing a movement to end violence against women of color and our communities through direct action, critical dialogue and grassroots organizing. - See more at: http://www.incite-national.org/page/about-incite#sthash.4kX3zHqS.dpuf
History:
In 2000, our founders organized a little conference. It was primarily for a small group of impassioned women of color activis ...ts who were fed up with existing organizations that couldn't (or wouldn't) address violence faced by women of color.
They wanted to understand and actively confront violence while placing women of color at the center. That meant including attacks on immigrants' rights and Indigenous treaty rights, the proliferation of prisons, militarism, attacks on the reproductive rights of women of color, medical experimentation on communities of color, homophobia/heterosexism, hate crimes against queer women of color, economic neo-colonialism, institutional racism, and more.
But as news about the event spread, the conference grew really fast. Women of color from across the U.S. made urgent calls asking to be included in the discussion, imploring us to find a larger venue, and insisting that we consider creating a longer-term response to violence against women of color. Ultimately, two thousand women of color attended the conference; more than two thousand had to be turned away.
This desperate flood of interest made it clear to our founders that a conference alone wasn't going to cut it. We had touched, and needed to tend to, a collective raw nerve. INCITE! began that same year.
Although it started as a movement explicitly consisting of people who identify as women of color, INCITE! members have been deepening our understanding of how colonization and white supremacy in the US affect the constructing (and policing) of gender. We've also been developing a political space where people of color who are trans or gender non-conforming are integral.
Since our small beginnings in 2000, INCITE! has grown into grassroots chapters and affiliates across the country; launched political projects mobilizing our communities against violence; held follow-up conferences and events, and sparked critical dialogue through writing, art and other media.
- See more at: http://www.incite-national.org/page/history#sthash.1fwT0HAk.dpufRead More »
How We Help:Key's mission is to assist troubled youth and their families with developing positive life skills and life experiences so that they may pursue productive and rewarding lives.
History:
For more than 30 years, Key has received the strong support of public agencies, private foundations, and the social services ...community as a whole. Our leadership in reshaping the lives of youth and their families has been rewarded with the continued support of many organizations.
We believe that what we do is An experience for a lifetime™ for our clients and for our care providers. Nothing is more important to us than continuing this commitment to excellence and leadership.
Key is committed to:
meeting the individual treatment needs of youth and families by emphasizing a strength-based approach
delivering quality care and services to youth and families
offering a culturally sensitive system of care
providing care in the least restrictive environment possible
promoting the safety of the communities in which our youth and families reside
advocating for public policy which assists and protects children and families at risk
developing flexible and innovative treatment models
ensuring a skilled and caring staff through quality supervision and training
creating life-long supporters and advocates of the human services field within our past, present and future staff through their work experience at Key Read More »
For Men, For Women, For Children/Teens, For Elders
Location
Framingham, MA
Life Span
Domestic Violence Resource
How We Help:Life Span provides comprehensive services for women and children enabling them to stay together without violence, and/or to help women eliminate the abuse from their lives, build upon their strengths, and become self-sufficient. Life Span is committed to providing victims of abuse a range of non-residential options by defining domestic violence as a crime as well as a social problem. Life Span is also committed to reducing community acceptance and tolerance of abuse and increasing community awareness of domestic violence and sexual violence. Life Span provides community education and technical assistance to ensure responsive and appropriate treatment and delivery of public services to victims of domestic and sexual violence.
History:
Life Span was founded in 1978 by a coalition of women and organizations in the North and Northwest suburbs of Cook County to ...address the urgent need of battered women in the area for services.
In the last 34 years, Life Span has grown from a small, grass roots agency staffed by an Executive Director and a legion of volunteers to an agency employing 25 people. Our agency has grown from one which provided group counseling to one which is a leader in the provision of expert services from counseling and criminal court advocacy to legal representation in all types of family law cases. Life Span has created a number of innovative programs, including the Police Project, the Target Abuser Call Project in conjunction with the State's Attorneys Office, and the Immigration Project. In addition, we are also the only agency in Illinois, and possibly the country, to put into practice Civil No Contact Orders for sexual assault survivors.
Throughout our history, Life Span has been true to its original mission, the eradication of domestic and sexual violence in the lives of its individual clients and in society. Our direct domestic and sexual violence services work toward this goal. In our advocacy and policy work, we use what we have learned from helping our clients, to create systems of change that positively impact survivors of domestic and sexual violence.Read More »
How We Help:Victim Response will serve as a catalyst of social change to transform our community and champion the human rights of survivors of gender violence and their dependents. This mission will be accomplished by our continued efforts to create, develop and support a comprehensive shelter system which promotes safety and independence.
History:
Victim Response, Inc. (VRI) is a private not for profit corporation which received tax exempt status under section 501(c) 3 o ...f the Internal Revenue Code on September 3, 2003. VRI’s primary purpose is the provision of services both direct and indirect to victims of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, and other victims of crime. On May 14th, 2004 VRI opened “The Lodge”, a shelter for victims of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault in Miami-Dade County. The Lodge is a publicly funded, privately operated domestic violence center which represents the next generation of what can be achieved when the private and public sectors work hand-in-hand to address community issues. Empowerment-based advocacy is survivor-focused. The needs of the survivor are essential and drive the relationship between survivor and advocate.Read More »
How We Help:The NW Network of Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian and Gay Survivors of Abuse works to end violence and abuse by building loving and equitable relationships in our community and across the country.
History:
Founded in 1987 by lesbian survivors of battering, the NW Network works to end abuse in our diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual an ...d trans communities. As an organization founded by and for LGBT survivors, we’re deeply committed to fostering the empowerment of all survivors of abuse. The NW Network increases our communities’ ability to support the self-determination and safety of bisexual, transgender, lesbian and gay survivors of abuse through education, organizing and advocacy. We work within a broad liberation movement dedicated to social and economic justice, equality and respect for all people and the creation of loving, inclusive and accountable communities.Read More »
How We Help:Stop Abuse For Everyone (SAFE) provides unique services for domestic violence victims. We help those who typically fall between the cracks of domestic violence services and few services are available: straight men, GLBT victims, teens, and the elderly. We promote that there should be services for ALL victims and accountability for all perpetrators.
History:
SAFE Was Founded in 1996. Starting out as a grassroots organization, SAFE acquired its 501(c)3 federal nonprofit status in ea ...rly 2001, so donations are tax-deductible in the United States.
SAFE's international headquarters are in Portland, Oregon, USA. SAFE has served tens of thousands of people since its inception, had extensive press coverage, and is growing rapidly.Read More »
