My Nonprofit Reviews

I want to say I am a survivor and was an Office Manager and Victim Advocate at another nonprofit domestic violence program. I asked for a tour of this facility. I was shocked - and not in a good way. I was shocked that a program that is supposed to help victims escape their violent abusers has their address publicly listed. This place seems to be pushed/promoted as a domestic violence shelter, but they take in homeless people. There were no real security measures (1 camera outside) and men working there. This is not a place of warmth, hope or healing - it reeks of hopelessness and has a prison feel to it. I couldn't work there simply because it is utterly depressing. It doesn't matter how much paint and inspirational sayings you put on cinder block walls, it feels institutional and prison like. When you leave abuse you want to go somewhere that allows you to catch your breath - breathe, let your mind settle, try and not be hyper vigilant, try and figure out what to do next. You can't do that there. You can't do that in a shelter that kicks you out at 7:30 in the morning and doesn't allow you to return until the afternoon. I didn't see the bugs or mold; but I don't doubt they are there. My first thought after I walked out was "If this had been where I had to go, I would have gone straight back to my abuser." This nonprofit needs MAJOR help, restructuring and overhauling. Women and children of abuse cannot go there to heal. That was a visual nightmare and I feel for the women and children that have to stay there. A high number of women and children that have passed through the doors does not equal actually helping them to escape and stay free of abuse.