Urgent Mutual Aid for Most Vulnerable DV Survivors
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Urgent Mutual Aid for Most Vulnerable Survivors of Domestic Violence
Aim: Raise $20K
Purpose: Immediate aid for New Orleans Area domestic violence (DV) survivors and their families -- who can’t access mainstream funds. Survivors and their families are vulnerable and in increased danger now.
Mainstream funds require various documentation (see below), and the most vulnerable survivors and their families don’t have these, often because of the abuse itself. This means, without flexible mutual aid, the most vulnerable of the vulnerable can fall through the cracks.
We know from past disasters -- without aid these crises can define the futures of vulnerable people for decades. Our ethos is believe survivors, and we entrust survivors and their families to make their own decisions around these dollars to pay for basic needs, rent, or even to escape.
100% of this fund will help survivors determine their own futures amid the COVID-19 crisis. We will be distributing funds as they are collected as the urgency of needs is now. A survivor will not require access to banking & technology for receipt of funds when that’s a barrier. Families will be feeling the economic fallout for years to come. Again, the opportunity for stabilizing is now.
What does “most vulnerable” mean & how does this connect to preventing access to mainstream funds of support?
- Individuals who are vulnerable due to their identity, legal status, or position in society: Elderly, Immigrant and Undocumented, non-English speakers, survivors with medical conditions (increasing their vulnerability to COVID and also to exploitation by abusive partners), survivors experiencing homelessness, survivor families displaced and living doubled or tripled up in unsafe homes.
- People with limited access to technology to learn about and apply for existing resources: Technology access is determined by literacy, computer literacy, English proficiency, finances, and other factors that result in the most vulnerable being excluded from mainstream avenues of support.
- Survivors who don’t have checking accounts, income stubs, tax returns, bills, or leases in their name: Mainstream funds require these things, and the most vulnerable survivors don’t have them, sometimes because of the very nature of abuse they’ve experienced.
And a note on DV: Domestic violence occurs in relationships of all communities and genders. “Most vulnerable” is not a way to define or compare individual experiences of survivors from these communities. This fund, though, is to address the very real limited access to resources some survivors face that compounds the struggle.
Thank you for answering this community call for mutual aid. We support one another with anti-oppression values and we believe survivors. For questions email [email redacted]
_____________________________________________________________________________
Who we are: a small team of independently organized mental health providers & advocates working with survivors of domestic violence and their families in the New Orleans Area.
Where we're from: We live and work in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Aim: Raise $20K
Purpose: Immediate aid for New Orleans Area domestic violence (DV) survivors and their families -- who can’t access mainstream funds. Survivors and their families are vulnerable and in increased danger now.
Mainstream funds require various documentation (see below), and the most vulnerable survivors and their families don’t have these, often because of the abuse itself. This means, without flexible mutual aid, the most vulnerable of the vulnerable can fall through the cracks.
We know from past disasters -- without aid these crises can define the futures of vulnerable people for decades. Our ethos is believe survivors, and we entrust survivors and their families to make their own decisions around these dollars to pay for basic needs, rent, or even to escape.
100% of this fund will help survivors determine their own futures amid the COVID-19 crisis. We will be distributing funds as they are collected as the urgency of needs is now. A survivor will not require access to banking & technology for receipt of funds when that’s a barrier. Families will be feeling the economic fallout for years to come. Again, the opportunity for stabilizing is now.
What does “most vulnerable” mean & how does this connect to preventing access to mainstream funds of support?
- Individuals who are vulnerable due to their identity, legal status, or position in society: Elderly, Immigrant and Undocumented, non-English speakers, survivors with medical conditions (increasing their vulnerability to COVID and also to exploitation by abusive partners), survivors experiencing homelessness, survivor families displaced and living doubled or tripled up in unsafe homes.
- People with limited access to technology to learn about and apply for existing resources: Technology access is determined by literacy, computer literacy, English proficiency, finances, and other factors that result in the most vulnerable being excluded from mainstream avenues of support.
- Survivors who don’t have checking accounts, income stubs, tax returns, bills, or leases in their name: Mainstream funds require these things, and the most vulnerable survivors don’t have them, sometimes because of the very nature of abuse they’ve experienced.
And a note on DV: Domestic violence occurs in relationships of all communities and genders. “Most vulnerable” is not a way to define or compare individual experiences of survivors from these communities. This fund, though, is to address the very real limited access to resources some survivors face that compounds the struggle.
Thank you for answering this community call for mutual aid. We support one another with anti-oppression values and we believe survivors. For questions email [email redacted]
_____________________________________________________________________________
Who we are: a small team of independently organized mental health providers & advocates working with survivors of domestic violence and their families in the New Orleans Area.
Where we're from: We live and work in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Fundraising team: Survivor Mutual Aid Fund (3)
Survivor Mutual Aid
Organizer
New Orleans, LA
Survivor Mutual Aid Fund
Beneficiary
Katie Boleware
Team member
W K
Team member