A grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation is supporting a collaborative research project among Alle-Kiski Area HOPE Center, Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health to better understand the housing challenges experienced by survivors of intimate partner violence. Together, the collaborators will identify practical solutions to strengthen services and improve access to safe, stable housing.
The project combines public health researchers and community organizations with complementary expertise in violence prevention, housing, and survivor advocacy.
Alle-Kiski Area HOPE Center and Women’s Center & Shelter will recruit study participants and contribute de-identified program data, while protecting survivor confidentiality, to help researchers better understand the barriers survivors face when seeking safe, permanent housing. Researchers will also analyze county-level data and convene workshops with survivors, housing providers, and other key community stakeholders to develop actionable recommendations.
“Our advocates work alongside survivors every day, and we see firsthand how difficult it can be to find safe, stable housing after leaving an abusive relationship,” said Erin Gillette, executive director of Alle-Kiski Area HOPE Center. “This collaboration allows us to combine those real-life experiences with research so we can identify gaps, strengthen services, and build evidence that supports better housing solutions for survivors.”
“This collaboration unites organizations with decades of experience serving survivors and a shared commitment to creating meaningful change,” said Paige Quay, Director of Information Systems & Compliance at Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. “We’re working to translate what we learn into solutions that improve services for survivors across our community.”
“Our project is about listening to survivors and using their experiences to strengthen the systems designed to support them,” said Zoé Hendrickson, PhD, associate professor of behavioral and community health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. “By combining survivor perspectives with existing housing and service data, we hope to identify practical, evidence-based solutions that improve housing access and expand support for survivors.”
Findings will be shared with key community stakeholders to help advance survivor-centered approaches to housing and domestic violence services and inform future investments in housing support for survivors.
The collaboration grew from longstanding relationships fostered by Elizabeth Miller, MD, PhD, emeritus professor at the University of Pittsburgh, whose work in violence prevention helped bring the organizations together. The support from Allegheny County Department of Human Services has been invaluable in facilitating this work and connecting the project team with county-level data to inform their work.
-Clare Collins
The Alle-Kiski Area HOPE Center, founded in 1979, provides comprehensive, trauma-informed services to survivors of domestic violence. Through a 24-hour crisis hotline, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing assistance, legal advocacy, medical advocacy, prevention and education, and other supportive services, HOPE Center offers opportunities for healing, empowers survivors to achieve safety and stability, and works to end violence and abuse.
Founded in 1974, Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh provides emergency shelter, advocacy, counseling, legal services, prevention, education, and other programs that support over 8,000 people every year who are impacted by intimate partner violence.