Archive for March, 2012

By Julieta Barcaglioni, Housing Assistance Program Manager

 
In October of 2011, Safe Harbor received a grant from the Office of Violence Against Women to begin a second transitional housing program for victims of domestic violence. This second program – called the Housing Assistance Program (HAP) – will serve a minimum of 14 clients for a period of 3 years and strives to achieve three main goals and objectives.

The first and main goal is to provide secure, stable and safe housing for victims of domestic violence. HAP provides transitional rental and utility assistance for its clients for an average period of 18 months. During such period, HAP pays 40% of participants’ rent and utilities.  Participants are able to select an apartment or home of their choice in any of the four counties that Safe Harbor serves (Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, and Anderson).  Securing safe and affordable housing is one of the greatest obstacles that survivors of domestic violence face.  Therefore, the HAP program also includes a more long-term solution approach to housing. Participants are encouraged to begin thinking about other long-term solutions and are guided through the process of familiarizing themselves with more permanent low-income based housing and home ownership programs.

The second goal of the program is to increase the ability of domestic violence victims to obtain jobs.  Victims of domestic violence are particularly vulnerable to the economic and personal challenges of sparse employment opportunities.  For this reason, all HAP clients are offered placement into the Greenville Technical College Quick Jobs with a Future program, which allows clients to quickly obtain skills matching the needs of local business and industry. Read the rest of this entry »