NY domestic violence programs see client numbers decline as coronavirus traps survivors at home

New York, with more than 75,000 confirmed cases so far, is now regarded as the epicenter of the outbreak. Shelters and domestic violence programs in the state have reflected the hit, with fewer people choosing to stay there out of fear of contracting the virus or fewer people being able to access resources provided by these groups.

In the first week of March, just as the coronavirus was beginning to plant roots in New York state, Sakhi for South Asian Women, a nonprofit that provides services and resources to women affected by violence, saw the number of people calling its hotline decrease by 76% from the week before. The monthly calls overall decreased from 114 in February to 53 in March. In January, when President Donald Trump was assuring the country that the outbreak was under control, Sakhi received 166 calls. 

Other New York shelters saw similar downward patterns as the virus spread and as health officials and the president strengthened their language in response to the pandemic. 

Freedom House, an emergency shelter for survivors of domestic violence with disabilities that is operated by the nonprofit Barrier Free Living, is licensed for 95 beds and currently has 89 occupants. 

“Some people have panicked and gone back to their homes to live with relatives because they felt like they’d be safer there,” said Paul Feuerstein, CEO of Barrier Free Living. “We are trying to counsel people by saying we are keeping the program as sterile as we can. But when people are cooped up in an apartment by themselves with their kids, there is lots of opportunity for people to worry about their current situations.”

On a larger scale, the National Domestic Violence Hotline has begun to receive calls from survivors who are specifically concerned about the coronavirus.

“The Hotline’s call, chat and text volume remains in the average 1,800-2,000 per day range. However, we are seeing an increase in the number of survivors reaching out who [are] concerned with COVID-19 and how their abusive partner is leveraging COVID-19 to further isolate, coerce, or increase fear in the relationship. Between March 10 and March 26 we have had 1,216 contacts who have mentioned COVID-19,” said Katie Ray-Jones, chief executive officer of the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

There are many reasons a survivor of domestic violence would opt to stay at home with their abuser rather than stay in a shelter. Sometimes survivors don’t have the economic means to leave. In recent weeks, people were instructed to stay indoors to avoid spreading and contracting the coronavirus.

To stay at Freedom House, survivors have to go through a screening that consists of giving the staff “a basic understanding of what the violence is” to ensure that those seeking shelter are actually fleeing violence, according to Cynthia Amodeo, chief program officer at Barrier Free Living. Because of shelter-in-place orders, it’s less likely that a survivor would walk in for that screening. 

Survivors are always measuring risk, said Maureen Curtis, vice president of criminal justice and court programs at Safe Horizon, a nonprofit organization that has nine shelters throughout the five boroughs with total capacity of 800 beds. 

“A woman who is in a violent relationship and is thinking about going into the shelter,” she said, “will say, ‘You know what? I don’t want to go into a shelter right now because I’m afraid of my children getting infected, living in a place where it’s a shared living space.” Many shelters in New York offer families fleeing domestic violence shared apartment space.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/31/new-york-coronavirus-domestic-violence-programs-see-decline-as-disease-spreads.html