Gender Equality United States Project #7336

Support survivors escaping domestic violence

by Raphael House of Portland

Support survivors escaping domestic violence

Project Report | Mar 30, 2023
Over 1,500 survivors served, thanks to you!

By Lindsey Vold | Program Director

Dear Friends,

We are so grateful for partners like you! So, I wanted to share more about how your support in 2022 helped us be here for over 1,500 adults and kids who’ve escaped domestic violence in this past year.

Housing has remained one of the biggest challenges that survivors are facing. To meet this need, we made an essential shift to add two new Housing Advocate positions on our team. Plus we’ve continued to distribute emergency funding to keep people safe and housed – over $200,000!

Because of these supports, 92% of families across our programs are currently in safe housing, and 98% share that we’ve helped them achieve critical goals they set.

One survivor shared the difference this made to her, “If Raphael House didn’t have programs like Shelter To Stability, I would be houseless... I am truly thankful for the resources you’ve made available for me and my children.”

Across our programs, we started shifting back to in-person group activities and volunteering, and the excitement on people’s faces has been heartwarming to witness – even beneath everyone’s masks.

We’ve had yoga classes, field trips, and visits from our longtime partner Little Dog Laughed, which helps kids learn communication skills through training dogs.

We also hosted over 140 virtual support groups in 2022, and recently held our first in-person session in nearly three years – with our Latinas Unidas group!

Crisis response remains life-saving for survivors, and is more needed than ever. We supported 1,035 callers on our 24/7 hotline (nearly three times as many calls as in 2020), and we provided 2,395 safe nights in our confidential emergency shelter.

Kae, a survivor and parent shared, “My oldest still talks about our stay here and how much it changed our lives.”

Finally, our Prevention Education program reached a huge milestone in 2022, expanding our Confidential Advocacy services into all 9 Portland Public High Schools in partnership with VOA Oregon Home Free. That means even more teens across our community have the support they deserve in the wake of dating or sexual violence.

I hope these highlights show how much of a difference you and our whole community of supporters make to survivors and their families!

With gratitude,

Lindsey Vold (she/her)

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Nov 29, 2022
Prevention Education at Raphael House

By Emmy Ritter | Executive Director

With your help, our Prevention Education Program is stopping violence before it happens!

Raphael House is more than a safe haven in the aftermath of abuse. Since 2006, we’ve also been expert leaders in preventing domestic violence – teaching practical tools for building safe relationships, asking for consent, and responding to abuse to thousands of students, teachers, and community members across Portland (over 2,700 last year alone).

And we haven’t stopped there. We’re also working alongside teen survivors when abuse does happen. In 2018, we began offering in-school confidential advocacy for students – the first partnership of its kind in the US.

One-third of teens experience relationship abuse, but most never report it or get the help they deserve. Confidential advocates fill this gap – providing a safe adult to listen and share resources, so students can seek support and be part of ending the cycle of violence.

The violence harming people across our community is not inevitable. We CAN prevent it – and our growing programming at Raphael House is doing just that.

Your support is making these changes possible. Thank you being a part of our life-changing work!

“As a confidential advocate, I get to truthfully tell student survivors, ‘say whatever you want.’ I’ve had students cry, sit in silence, yell. I get to provide a space for them to process trauma and heal in a way they might not have at home or anywhere else. We work together to figure out next steps. One student told me, ‘You’ve helped me. You’ve stayed here. You’ve been a person in my life who hasn’t been flaky, a person of your word.’

In high school, I only had two teachers show up for me. That I can do that for teens now is amazing – that ongoing connection is really powerful.”

-Chloe, Prevention Education Specialist

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Aug 2, 2022
Letter from Emmy, Executive Director

By Emmy Ritter | Executive Director

Dear Friends,

As we wrap up our fiscal year at Raphael House, I’m filled with gratitude for the community of supporters who make our work possible every day. This past year brought with it the need to further adapt and rebuild, as we learned to live with the pandemic while responding to the ways it continues to destabilize domestic violence survivors and their children. With your support, we’ve been here for our community every day: providing safe and confidential shelter, remaining a long-term resource as survivors rebuilt their lives, and working in schools and across the community to stop domestic violence before it starts.

I’m so proud to share a snapshot of what we achieved together over the past year.

FY2022 Highlights:

Served a total of 5,583 individuals—including 1,683 survivors (adults and children alike) plus 3,900 additional community members.
Prevented homelessness and helped families maintain safe housing by providing one-on-one case management, expanding our team to include two new Housing Advocates, and distributing $479,000 in direct client assistance to pay for rent, utilities, and other critical needs.
Met families’ basic needs by distributing 34,480 pounds of food and fresh produce, 4,250 diapers, and countless thousands of hygiene items.
Helped prevent future violence by teaching 170 workshops on equitable relationships and practicing consent to thousands of students and adults across the Portland metro area, while also providing personalized, confidential support to 140 teens experiencing dating violence and sexual assault.

Reflecting on the past year, we could not be more grateful to be doing this work not alone, but in partnership with a community that is so deeply committed to supporting survivors. Thank you!

In health and safety,

Emmy Ritter, LCSW
Executive Director

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