Access to safe and affordable housing continues to be a major impediment for families attempting to leave situations of domestic violence and abuse. While emergency shelters can provide temporary assistance, requests for help vastly outstrip available beds and resources, and they do not provide a long-term solution. Emergency shelters throughout the state are often at capacity and spaces are extremely limited.

To address this problem, this research study will evaluate the Domestic Violence Housing First Pilot Program introduced by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. This program is centered on adequately housing survivors so that other problems and issues become easier to manage. Given the significant interaction between housing and domestic violence, an understanding of which policy solutions have the potential to mitigate these negative outcomes is critical. Extension’s statewide network will be tapped to inform this research and disseminate findings to community partners.

Co-Principal Investigators

Kate Walsh, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and Gender and Women’s Studies

Mariel Barnes, Assistant Professor, La Follette School of Public Affairs