December brings the holiday season and for the WCA, it also marks the start of this year’s Avenues for Hope campaign on December 9. The Avenues for Hope Campaign sheds light on homelessness in Idaho. Our shelters serve many women and children who would otherwise face unstable housing and homelessness. We provide safe shelter to women and children who are fleeing situations of domestic abuse, and many of them often face a significant threat of lethality. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of 2020, we have had just under 30 emergency intakes to our shelters. The most recent emergency intake was just this past week. To put that into context, in the whole of 2019, we had 4. Emergency intakes happen when the threat of lethality against an individual or family member is so severe, we have to help that family reach safety immediately. The increased demand for safe shelter is just one example of the continued increase in the need for our services. Unfortunately, as this global health crisis continues, rates of domestic abuse remain significantly higher now than they were before the pandemic. Home is not safe for everyone.
Domestic abuse is the number one cause of homelessness among women. In 2020, 40% of unhoused families in Ada County fled domestic violence and 70% had experienced domestic violence in the past. Last year, our shelters provided 11,132 safe bed nights for 182 women and children staying in our shelters.
The Avenues for Hope campaign provides not only the opportunity for important outreach but also the opportunity for us to raise vital funds to preserve our safe shelter services. While gifts are welcome throughout the campaign, which runs from December 9 to December 31, we are hoping to double the impact that your gift will have by focusing our efforts on these important milestones:
If we achieve our goals during the second half of December, we will earn a monetary award, which will further increase the impact of your donation. Look out for our social media posts throughout the campaign to learn more!
You can view our campaign page here: https://www.avenuesforhope.org/organizations/wcaboise
We are always grateful for your support and we are especially grateful this year, during a holiday season that is a challenging time for many.
Happy Holidays to you and your family.
