Community

A Samaritan House Family Advocate wears many hats; driver, job coach, counselor, health care advisor, housekeeper, babysitter, teacher, and most important, advocate. We serve clients from many demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds so we never know the capabilities or qualities before we meet a client for the first time.

In the last seven years that I have worked at Samaritan House I have provided services to women who have never worked outside of the home, professional women who are fearful that their secret trauma at home with be discovered, mothers who are mourning the effect that domestic violence has had on their children, fathers, men who are taking a leap of faith and admitting that they too have been victims of domestic violence and women who have recently come from other countries and know limited English.

Clients have thirty days to secure employment so that they will be able to save enough money to move into private housing before the end of their sixty- day stay. Some clients may transfer into a transitional housing program if they have more difficult barriers to overcome such as a high-risk pregnancy, a wage garnishment, or a long-term illness that will require treatment.

One client that I served was from the Middle East. She had come here with her American husband to find a better life. She had enrolled in ESL classes at the Adult Learning Center and had made a friend there. One evening she and her husband got into an argument and he assaulted her. She called the police where the report was received by a Victim Advocate who referred her to the shelter. She entered into shelter without a job, limited English, no transportation, and a limited support system as her family still lived abroad. Her culture was also a barrier because her father believed that her husband was a good man and would not approve of a separation.

During the client’s stay in shelter she was able to obtain a position as a hotel housekeeper. She continued to attend her ESL classes. The client learned to use HRT and sometimes carpooled with a classmate. She communicated with her family abroad and found much support from her sisters who would occasionally send her money.

She left the shelter program and moved into a room for a reduced rate at the hotel where she was working. Finally, with help from an aftercare advocate she was able to obtain her own apartment and live independently with freedom from domestic violence.

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