You are part of an incredible Safe Horizon community – funders, stakeholders, supporters, and thought leaders – who work on behalf of the 250,000 New Yorkers whose lives we touch each year. As our partners, you share our commitment to provide support, prevent violence and promote justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families and communities. This is to update you on news, ideas, and just a few of our emerging projects at Safe Horizon.

Rising Calls for Help Amid COVID-19 and Connections to Safety and Hope

We know stress, reduced earnings, housing and financial insecurity, and the sudden loss of loved ones heighten risk factors for family violence. COVID-19 has amplified all of these factors.

For too many survivors, this new reality has been lethal. In April and May, fifteen victims were killed at the hands of an intimate partner or family member – a 66% increase over the same time period in 2019.

Heartbreakingly, in the first weeks of the crisis, calls to 911 and the NYC Domestic Violence Hotline actually fell. Calls to the hotline declined 13%. At a time when we anticipated increased safety needs among survivors, this decrease made us increasingly concerned about survivor safety in a new era of sheltering in place.

“The story on reporting is complicated,” Safe Horizon CEO Ariel Zwang shared with Dr. Sanjay Gupta on his podcast Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction. “In the first month of the stay-at-home orders here in New York, calls to our hotline were down. That’s for a couple of reasons. One, people just prioritizing their health. But another is an assumption that help wasn’t available. And that is tragic because help is available.”

In response, we launched a major campaign — #SafetyIsEssential – to let New Yorkers know that Safe Horizon is still open and available 24/7. We partnered with celebrities to tell their own stories, published articles featuring our 24/7 hotline (including an op-ed in CNN) and provided information about how to access help in interviews with many media outlets (including The Washington Post, USA Today, CNBC, The Guardian, WNYC, WCBS and PIX11).

Ever since, calls have increased nearly 40%. Our advocates are working round the clock to help survivors safety plan and access resources. Safety planning is often more intensive because the person who is hurting them could be in the next room.

“The top needs of survivors during COVID has been linkages to shelter, information about courts and protection orders, and increasingly, emotional and supportive counseling,” said Hotline Director Kia Edwards-Myrie. “We are also filling in for walk in programs and services that are now closed or working remotely.”

“The call volume can be overwhelming, but we are encouraged by this trend. It means that survivors are finally getting the help they need,” said Kia.

Program Highlights: Streetwork, Domestic Violence Shelters, and Immigration Law Project

The Streetwork Project continues to provide shelter, crisis support, counseling, and more for young people every day. We have grown in our role as a food source amid increasing food insecurity, offering in-person meals and pantry items to young people. Our case managers continue to support young people through phone counseling – even expanding our access to meet needs from other providers that have temporarily closed.

Despite the growing challenges, Mark, a Streetwork client, remains positive and upbeat. After a two-year struggle with homelessness, Mark has raised his voice as a peer mentor, outreach worker, and vocal advocate on behalf of the needs of vulnerable youth in New York City. Hear from him directly as he shares his powerful story with ABC7’s Protect Our Children series (6-minute video).

Similarly, Trina has persevered with inspiring strength and determination. Trina is HIV+ and was running out of her medication when the Coronavirus pandemic hit NYC. Her compromised immune system placed her at high medical risk. Streetwork promptly arranged an appointment with a medical provider who prescribed a more accessible medication. Streetwork continues to virtually connect with Trina, and hundreds of other homeless young people, to maintain stability, access to basic needs, and hope.

Our eight Domestic Violence Shelters across the five boroughs remain open, with wrap-around services like case management, supportive counseling, housing advocacy, support groups, and other services taking place digitally. Our staff are also working hard to provide 500 meals each day to shelter residents, and we have explored new ways of partnering with the tech industry to provide tools and resources for remote learners in shelter.

With Immigration Courts open during the pandemic, our Immigration Law Project staff have become essential, front-line workers in the fight to protect immigrant victims and our communities. ILP staff have:

• conducted telephonic intakes and client meetings remotely;
• filed applications for renewals of work permits, DACA, and U-Visas;
• appeared in Immigration Court for asylum hearings (and won!);
• filed motions, appeals, and served process on the U.S. government in federal litigation;
• responded to Requests for Evidence on “green card” applications;
• and responded to clients’ inquiries regarding available benefits, such as unemployment and eligibility under the CARES Act.

Lucas, a Christian pastor, came to Safe Horizon after his family fled Nigeria. He and his family faced brutal persecution by Boko Haram and spent years waiting for their day in court, which finally came in March. Thanks to the persistent work of Safe Horizon’s Immigration Law Project, Lucas, his wife, and their three children were all granted asylum and now live in the U.S. with safety and security.

Interactions with Safe Horizon’s web-based weekday chat service, SafeChat, have nearly doubled. SafeChat, which launched in September 2019, typically saw increases of 10 interactions per month as we scaled the program from its prototyping phase. In April, the program grew by 86 interactions over the previous month and has sustained this level of engagement in the months since. Chat-based supports are of growing importance for survivors who may not be able to speak freely on the phone.