By Carol Corden, Executive Director

As New Destiny adapts to the rapid changes resulting from COVID-19, I want to share how we are working to meet the needs of domestic violence survivors.

We continue to monitor legislation and policies that impact low-income families and homeless domestic violence survivors and to update our Housing Resource Center  to help domestic violence survivors and low-income individuals navigate affordable housing during the crisis.

This past week, the major challenge for the families in our buildings was connecting their children to the Department of Education’s (DOE) remote learning. Our Family Support Program staff contacted parents with school age children to determine whether they needed the wifi-enabled laptops, since many families were not connected to the internet.

Family Support Program staff have put together a roster of activities using available resources and creating their own that will be offered remotely to meet the needs of both children and adults including yoga, building healthy routines and healthy eating, journaling, virtual museum and zoo scavenger hunts, book club, storytelling, and social distancing bingo.

I continue to be amazed by the dedication of our incredible staff. Here’s one story of how our work, though now conducted remotely, is making a difference:

Immediately after all non-essential businesses were required to shut down, our HousingLink staff reached out to program participants who have been placed in apartments to assess their needs and concerns due to the coronavirus. One participant, Julia, who works as a personal trainer at a fitness center, shared that she had been laid off with no pay. Julia was extremely anxious about how she would pay her rent until the fitness center re-opened. Through its grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HousingLink was able to provide Julia with funds to cover three months of rent helping to relieve one of her immediate concerns.

At a time when the need is so great, your support ensures our ability to continue serving vulnerable domestic violence survivors as they struggle to maintain their homes, their health and their children’s education.

Click here to make a gift today to help us support families whose lives have been made even more difficult by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wishing you health and safety over the coming weeks,

Carol Corden