On Aug. 16, various elected officials and municipal leaders from Cottonwood and the Verde Valley gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the Verde Valley Sanctuary’s new transitional housing complex for domestic abuse survivors.
The complex, which is furnished using donated items from Sanctuary’s three “Twice Nice” resale stores, houses multiple single residents as well as parents, their children and pets who have fled from abusive homes.
“About a third of people are coming from the Phoenix Metro area, a third come from around here and the other third come from the rest of the United States,” VVS Board President David Hanke said.
According to Hanke, residents hear about the Sanctuary by word-of-mouth, others are referred by local agencies.
“One resident left from [out of state] in the middle of the night with her kids and she’d known about us,” he said. “If you’re in the domestic violence industry, the centers are all pretty well-networked. Sometimes somebody will come from another state and we don’t have a bed so we refer them to another city.”
Need Outpaces Resources
According to Hanke, the need for transitional housing in the community is outpacing available spaces.
“Unfortunately the need is really great, and it’s gotten worse the past two years,” he said. “Our Sanctuary is full all the time.”
According to Sanctuary’s Community Development Director Tracey McConnell, before the grand opening, all but one of the complex’s apartments were already full.
“[Sanctuary’s shelter staff] were so desperate to find homes for some of their survivors that we went ahead and housed them before our grand opening,” she said.
VVS Executive Director Jessye Johnson spoke about the lack of affordable housing options for survivors, most of whom are living at or below the poverty line.
“Available and affordable housing is virtually non-existent across the state and especially here in the Verde Valley,” Johnson said. “Fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Yavapai County is $1,203. We recently assisted a survivor and their child who was paying $1,800 for a two-bedroom apartment, and in order to comfortably afford that, the survivor would have needed to make $31.50 an hour, over $60,000 a year.”
Johnson added that many survivors must stay in shelters longer or end up returning to unsafe living conditions because there are no other options.
“According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the lack of safe and affordable housing is one of the biggest barriers to survivors leaving an abusive partner,” Johnson said.
Johnson included that accessible and affordable short-term and long-term traditional housing provided by the complex is a pathway to freedom for a small number of survivors, however, “That number is too small.”
While VVS is planning on eventually adding a few tiny homes to another area of the complex property, it is currently working on paying off the property’s mortgage, which was secured via a U.S. Department of Agriculture Community Improvement Grant.
Regarding the mortgage, VVS Community Enterprise Director Barry Maketansky said, “We’d love for anyone to step up and pay off that mortgage for us; we’d appreciate it.”
Additional Resources
While VVS residents may live at the complex from six months to two years, the organization offers additional resources to residents to help them prepare for eventual independence.
“We have case management, emotional support and access to community resources so that we can pave the way for them to become self-sufficient,” Johnson said. “Additionally, survivors are encouraged to save money and the Sanctuary will match their savings dollar-for-dollar up to $500 so when they leave for more permanent housing they will have some money in their pocket.”
Johnson added that while VVS offers a variety of services, it is up to the residents to voluntarily access them.
“We don’t require folks to engage in case management or support groups if they’re not ready to do that,” Johnson said. “The only requirement is that you need to be a domestic abuse survivor.”
While VSS does not employ any licensed counselors, Johnson said there are staff on board who are trained in crisis counseling and trauma-informed care, and referrals can be made for those seeking clinical mental health services.
“Our goal is to really make them safe and comfortable,” she said.
For more information about the Sanctuary, visit verdevalleysanctuary.org
