Safe Horizon’s Lang Report: Beyond Shelter: What Do Domestic Violence Survivors Need?

Experiences of isolation, physical, emotional or economic abuse, and financial dependence leave many victims without the resources to build a new life for themselves and their children. For survivors in crisis, domestic violence emergency shelters offer a safe refuge. Shelters have been found to reduce the frequency and intensity of ongoing violence and decrease depression. Shelters work—they help end violence in one’s life. But there is much more shelters can and should offer. That’s why Safe Horizon designed The Lang Report, a longitudinal needs assessment to learn how Safe Horizon—and other service providers—can better support emergency domestic violence shelter residents both during and after their stay in shelter.