SERVICES
Brennan House
The average woman victim of domestic violence makes seven attempts to leave
her battering situation before successfully establishing independence. For
many women, it is the lack of economic resources that forces a return to
the abuser. In assessing services they have received, battered women consistently
cite the need for more affordable transitional and permanent housing as
the key to achieving and maintaining violence-free independence. Brennan
House seeks to meet this critical need by offering a transitional housing
program for formerly battered women and their children.
Brennan House, opened in 1991, is a 30 bed transitional housing programwhere
formerly battered women and their children are offered a maximum stay of
12 months. Brennan House services are available to formerly battered women
and their children who are survivors of physical, sexual or emotional abuse.
Referrals are made by battered women's and homeless shelters in the Bay
Area.
In addition to being offered housing and food, women and families have
the opportunity to work with case managers to address their needs in a more
stabilized environment. Intensive work is done to help women and children
deal with the long-term effects of abuse, while at the same time offering
groups and workshops in the areas of parenting, education, and recreation.
Women and families are provided rooms of their own. Common areas such as
bathrooms, kitchens and children's playrooms are shared. Women are charged
a small percentage of their income as rent, with adjustments made as appropriate.
Women and children living at Brennan House meet regularly with staff to
continue working on issues identified during the initial crisis (separation
from the batterer), and to assess needs as they face the challenges of establishing
a new way of life. Recognizing the fact that each resident has individual
needs requiring specialized attention, issues are assessed in a personal,
ongoing manner. A stabilized living environment is conducive to setting
longer-term goals. Case management can center around family issues, job
search assistance, educational goals and counseling. An intensive children's
program works with the children in a manner that can involve the mothers
thoroughly. Throughout a resident's stay the overall goal is never lost:
to assist women in securing and retaining safe and affordable permanent
housing, free from violence.