 About Bradley-Angle House and the work they do: Fiscal year ('05-'06) Bradley-Angle house served 127 youth in it's Emergency Shelter Youth and Youth in Transition Programs. For the children of families living at their emergency and transitional programs, the physical and emotional harm associated with domestic violence has been their norm. They have lived in daily fear. All of the children are witnesses to and survivors of domestic violence. Listen to the voices and experiences of a few youth in their programs: "I told my mom about what we talked about in group about 'My body belongs to me and no one else' and I showed her how I can say 'no' to bad touch. She said that was good." (5 year-old in individual meeting with the Youth Coordinator) "So my dad did like horrible things, stuff that I will never forgive him for. And I want to tell my mom that it's going to be OK in the end. Cause we're away from him, and he can't touch me or my brother or sister no more. And I know that she's going to get full custody of us and she shouldn't have to worry about it." (11 year-old boy in meeting with the Youth Coordinator) "I'm glad we came here cause it's like really really safe. And my step-dad can't get in here and hurt us. I was just going to run away, I couldn't take it anymore." (16 year-old girl during initial youth intake) Bradley-Angle House history and programs: Bradley-Angle House (BAH) is a multi-cultural organization that was incorporated in Portland, Oregon in 1975, as one of the first emergency shelters in the country and the first emergency shelter on the West Coast for women and children escaping domestic violence. The mission of Bradley-Angle House is to offer survivors of domestic and sexual violence options for safety, self-empowerment, healing and hope, while collaborating with the community to create social change. All adults and children have the right to be safe from the threat or use of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. The dream is an end to domestic and sexual violence in all its forms. Bradley-Angle House is a seasoned organization with a demonstrated ability to deliver timely and professional services. It provides a broad-based continuum of interactive programs to serve and empower battered women and their children from all racial, social, economic, and educational backgrounds: · Emergency Shelter-providing short and longer term (up to 60 days) shelter and intensive programming for up to 20 women and children at one time; · Crisis Phone Line-providing 24-hour peer counseling, resource referral, and domestic violence information; · Youth Programs (Shelter and Youth in Transition)-offering support and advocacy to young people staying in it's shelter or transitional housing programs; · Transition Program-providing long term housing (6-9 months in focused site housing or up to 2 years in scattered site housing), case management, advocacy, and support groups for up to 52 women and children at one time; and · Non-Residential Services Program-presenting support groups for survivors throughout the community; reaching out to inform underserved populations of available services; offering culturally specific supportive services, groups and advocacy for African and African-American women and their children (through Bradley-Angle House Healing Roots Center) and for sexual minority survivors; and offering public education on domestic violence. Six Community Support Groups serve up to 48 women and their 100 children at one time. In 2007 Bradley-Angle House completed the expansion of it's shelter expanding it's capacity. With new private bedroom space for each participant, one woman commented, "I feel safe here being able to come back to shelter and go to my room and lock my door." Another participant said, "…it just feels so comfortable at the shelter, and feels like a family and my kids feel at home here." In 2008 Bradley-Angle House began a campaign to create a Rotary Center for Community Empowerment-a community resource center that will bring together concerned citizens from all backgrounds to work on reducing domestic violence in the greater Portland area. Bradley-Angle House seeks to purchase a property for this center, remodel it, and fund basic center operations for three years. The goal is to have the doors open in 2010. In its 33 years, Bradley-Angle House has been a national and a regional leader in a movement to create confidentially located safe houses to shelter survivors and provide peer support until they can gain the confidence, skills, and resources needed to live safely on their own. Now Bradley-Angle House will partner with local businesses to build a center that is open and accessible to the public, where conversation, strategizing, and community input can be channeled toward initiatives that will make domestic violence less and less socially acceptable. "The only possibility we have to end domestic violence is to involve the entire community in changing the conditions and perceptions that perpetuate the violence." said Karla McFarland, Executive Director at Bradley-Angle House. said Karla McFarland, Executive Director at Bradley-Angle House. "Domestic violence intersects with so many other issues facing our city right now-homelessness, drug addiction, poverty, violence in general, racism, and inequities of class, gender, and sexual orientation." The Center is minimally projected to house Bradley-Angle's non-residential services (including youth services), administrative offices, volunteer services, a library and resource center, an affordable licensed childcare center, community meeting rooms, performance and exhibit space, and a healing garden. |