Dear Friends,

Please see below for an update from the team at the Domestic Violence Resource Center.

  • As of Friday, April 3 none of the 72 individuals currently residing in our residential facilities have tested positive for the Coronavirus.
  • After an initial drop in hotline calls the week of March 16, calls to our crisis hotline have increased 59% in a one-week period. We anticipate the need for domestic violence services to continue to increase as Governor Sisolak’s Stay at Home order in Nevada continues. This New York Times article sheds light on the concerns about domestic violence during this very difficult time. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/us/coronavirus-lockdown-domestic-violence.html?searchResultPosition=3

Much of our work has transitioned to mobile advocacy. Operationally:

  • We continue to provide 24/7 free, bilingual and confidential services to domestic violence survivors and their families via the crisis hotline and at four locations in our community.
  • Our donation room remains closed to clients for shopping and also to donors for making donations.
  • Our Vassar Street facility is open from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Monday-Friday with a small staff crew. We minimized our office hours to reduce potential exposure for all.
  • Our residential services continue to be operational at both the emergency shelter and our transitional housing facilities. As of March 12 we stopped admitting new individuals to our emergency shelter and are instead providing shelter services to incoming residents in non-traditional settings (our transitional housing facility when available and at local motels). Full shelter services are provided to all in our shelter program – regardless of setting. That means we are delivering meals, groceries to shelter residents who are receiving services “off-site”.

How can you help?

We know that thinking of others can be especially challenging when we’re all concerned about our health and the health, safety, financial wellbeing and happiness of our loved ones. On behalf of the 28 women and 44 children in our residential program today, though, I’d like to ask you to take a moment to think about what this time would be like for you if you were afraid, homeless, living with strangers and experiencing significant financial insecurity.

A gift at any level today will help to make our residents’ lives more comfortable, more secure and more fun during this very frightening time. Here are some ideas:

  • $313 will purchase a seven night stay at a motel for a domestic violence survivor and her children. This support is critically important given the increasing need for domestic violence emergency shelter services.
  • $100 will help our organization provide one week of meals/groceries for a family in our “off-site” emergency shelter settings.
  • $200 will help us provide the fixings for an Easter brunch or dinner at the emergency shelter or transitional housing facilities.
  • Approximately $15/child ($660) will help us to purchase Easter treats for our child residents.
  • All additional support (at any level) will be used to purchase cleaning supplies and to offset our growing expenses with our expanded shelter services.

As always, thank you for your kindness.

Denise Yoxsimer

Executive Director

ESCAPE SITE