Serving the Arlington community since 1978
24-Hour Domestic and Sexual Violence Hotline: 703-237-0881
Wednesday, Feb 17th • 12 p.m. (ET)
Is A “Homeless Pandemic” Looming?
Hear how people who are experiencing homelessness are faring during these unprecedented times, and learn about ways you can help the shelters that are their lifeline, including Doorways. Guests include Doorways’ President and CEO, Diana Ortiz.
“The shuttering of schools nationwide in March immediately shattered any semblance of stability for millions of homeless children who depend on schools for food, emotional support, or even just a warm, uncomplicated place to think,” wrote Hannah Natanson. “Trying to learn inside shelters for the past nine months, students have faced spotty WiFi, crowded rooms, high noise levels and harassment from some peers who deduce, over Zoom, that they lack a home.”
Read more in the Washington Post to learn what it’s like to attend school virtually while living at Doorways and other shelters.
The child in the photograph above is a model whose image has been used for illustrative purposes only.
What it’s like to learn online from inside a homeless shelter https://t.co/OTPt3v58B1
— Post Local (@postlocal) January 4, 2021
New DNA information leads police to serial rape suspect in Virginia nearly 30 years later
By Evan Lambert and FOX 5 DC Digital Team │ Published December 2, 2020
"Knowing that the criminal justice system did its due diligence, for a survivor, in particular, says that, 'Someone believes me, and what happened to me mattered,' and that's incredibly validating," says Sam Clarke of Doorways: https://t.co/ZA9bu01Dmy via @EvanLambertTV @fox5dc pic.twitter.com/alxcalQCOC
— Doorways (@DoorwaysVA) December 3, 2020
Back in March, we asked for your support as we began to navigate this unprecedented time, to enable us to adapt and adjust Doorways’ work in unprecedented ways.
With your support, in just weeks, Doorways shifted our programs and service delivery to meet the needs of current clients while adhering to CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. We hope you enjoy learning more in Doorways’ COVID-19 Impact Report.
Thanks to you, Doorways has remained open, continuing to serve current clients and welcoming new families into our care.
We are so grateful for all you’ve made possible these past four months. We thank you in advance for continuing to support families at Doorways as we face new challenges together, such as returning to school, virtually and/or in person.
➤ Learn how you can support kids at Doorways this back-to-school season. Stay tuned for more ways to help in our newsletter, This Week at Doorways! Subscribe now.
On a quiet, tree-lined street, Hope and Micah walk together in the sunshine. For the first time, in a very long time.
Because they are safe. Safe from a loved one who hurt them. Safe from angry words and threats. Safe to walk, and smile, and snuggle, and giggle — things that abuse took from them.
You helped get them here. Your gifts to Doorways gave Hope and Micah a home to call their own, counselors to help them heal, and the tools to start over and succeed. But even now, there are so many more who need you, just like Hope.
Today we are launching our Open Hearts, Open Doors match campaign, and I am asking you to be a part of it. From now until June 15th, 2020, every gift made to Doorways will be matched $2 to $1 by a generous coalition of Doorways Board Members, former Board Members, and Emeritus Board members.
Your gift of just $50 would mean $150. $100 would grow in impact to $300. $1,000 would triple to $3,000 — please, consider your gift for families just like Hope and Micah.
Just click this link to make your matched gift online: www.DoorwaysVA.org/donate.
Because you know that open hearts open doors to so many things — safety, security, serenity, and yes, hope.
Your gift will change lives. Thank you.
Give to Open Hearts, Open Doors today! This special $2 to $1 match won’t last long! We need you!
UPDATE—April 9, 2020—New volunteer opportunities:
A Message from Maureen Devine-Ahl, Doorways’ Interim President and CEO
March 18, 2020—As we shared in last week’s statement on COVID-19, Doorways is dedicated to the safety of our clients, staff, and volunteers. We are also committed to the continuity of our critical services for youth and families experiencing homelessness and for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
As we are all challenged to modify our day-to-day in the coming weeks, we ask you to think of community members who will become even more vulnerable and at risk during these times, and consider how we—all of us, together—are their safety net. We anticipate that changes in school, childcare, work, income and finances, health needs and management, and living situations may increase instances of domestic violence, sexual assault, homelessness, financial insecurity and more.
We ask you to think of community members who will become even more vulnerable and at risk during these times, and consider how we—all of us, together—are their safety net.
Our goal is to continue delivering Doorways’ critical response to our clients while doing all we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19, especially among our clients and staff. As such, we have shifted as many of our employees as possible to remote work, cancelled group activities and meetings, and are adjusting the ways in which we deliver some of our services as needed to ensure continued support:
Beyond the immediate term, the ripple effects of this crisis will continue to impact our clients and our community. Many of our clients earn minimum or low wages and have little or no paid leave. As schools and daycares close, many of our clients do not have childcare alternatives. Some clients may lose income, and others may lose their jobs altogether; we have already had client lose jobs due to COVID-19.
During this crisis and beyond it, Doorways is here to support our clients, because you—our partners in the community—are here to support Doorways. In a time of such fear, confusion and uncertainty, we need to come together like never before. We know this is no small ask, as we are all trying to manage moment-to-moment, unsure of what is next. But now is the time to ensure that our community’s vulnerable members do not get left behind or lost in the gaps created by circumstances like inadequate wages and nonexistent paid leave.
Because our clients are at greater risk of suffering the deeper, longer-lasting impacts of this crisis, we need you to invest in them, in us, now. If you have extra to share, now is the time to share it. Donate now at www.DoorwaysVA.org/donate. If you are unable to give, please consider starting a Facebook fundraiser or forwarding this message to your friends.
Thank you for supporting our clients and helping us rally this community behind them!
*For any victims and survivors not in Arlington who need support, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is here for you, 24/7. Call 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-799-7233 for TTY, or if you’re unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 22522.
Avoiding public spaces and working remotely can help to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but for many survivors, staying home may not be the safest option. We know that any external factors that add stress and financial strain can negatively impact survivors and create circumstances where their safety is further compromised.
Visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline’s website to learn how COVID-19 could uniquely impact intimate partner violence survivors, and get are a few suggestions for survivors that may make this uncertain time feel a little bit safer.
A Message from Maureen Devine-Ahl, Interim President and CEO
Doorways is dedicated to the safety of our clients, staff, and volunteers. We are also committed to the continuity of our critical services for youth and families experiencing homelessness and for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Along with our fellow safety-net partners, Doorways is closely monitoring developments regarding COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) and taking every precaution to keep our facilities clean and our staff and clients healthy. More than ever, our clients—many of whom are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19—will rely on Doorways and our community partners to maintain a healthy and hopeful standard of living. We anticipate that the need for our services may increase during and after this time.
Doorways is working to ensure the best possible provision of our services to the youth, families, and survivors in our care, and we need your help. Together, we can gather and command the additional resources available to respond to COVID-19 and its impacts in our community.
To support our ongoing critical response to youth and family homelessness, domestic violence, and sexual assault, during and beyond the COVID-19 crisis, please visit www.DoorwaysVA.org/donate and make your gift now.
Additionally, we are in need of the following essential items for our clients in shelter: hand soap, hand sanitizer, dish soap, toilet paper, diapers, pull-ups, paper towels, trash bags, cleaning spray, and cleaning wipes. All of these items can be purchased online via our Amazon wish list and sent to Doorways directly. Donations of gift cards for Amazon, Target, and local grocery stores like Giant and Safeway are also encouraged, as they enable our staff to purchase these items moving forward. These can be sent via email to Doorways at info@doorwaysva.org or mailed to PO Box 100185, Arlington, VA 22210.
We will keep you updated as this situation develops. Thank you for partnering with Doorways to support our clients and our agency during this time.
Watch this conversation among the leadership and community partners of Arlington’s Project PEACE—Partnering to End Abuse in the Community for Everyone—including Doorways’ Chief Program Officer, Samantha Clarke, MPA, LCSW:
“By teaming with our passionate employees, we hope to have a greater impact on housing and homelessness in our HQ regions of Seattle, WA and Arlington, VA.”
“Housing and homelessness is a focus area for Amazon and we know it’s important to our employees too. We chose 20 organizations to receive a match donation as way to hone our impact and join with our employees in a new way. The organizations were chosen based on existing employee involvement and proven results. Amazon will match dollar-for-dollar any employee donation – there is no limit on the match amount for any one donation or any one organization – made to the select nonprofits through September 30, up to $5 million. We invite you to join us in supporting frontline organizations making a difference in our communities.” Read more.
Doorways is honored to welcome Amazon to our community as a partner working to solve homelessness. Volunteering with Doorways is easy! We need your support—whether you are an individual or group—at all levels throughout our programs. We provide community-based support, emergency shelter, long-term housing, and wraparound services to youth, families, and survivors of abuse experiencing homelessness. Our programs impacted more than 4,100 adults, youth, and children last year alone, and the need for our services is growing. We can’t do it without you! Join us today.
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 327
Offered January 25, 2019
Commending Doorways for Women and Families.
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Patrons– Favola, Barker, Black, Boysko, Carrico, Chafin, Chase, Cosgrove, Dance, Deeds, DeSteph, Dunnavant, Ebbin, Edwards, Hanger, Howell, Lewis, Locke, Lucas, Marsden, Mason, McClellan, McDougle, McPike, Newman, Norment, Obenshain, Peake, Petersen, Reeves, Ruff, Saslaw, Spruill, Stanley, Stuart, Sturtevant, Surovell, Vogel and Wagner
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WHEREAS, for 40 years, Doorways for Women and Families has provided safety and stability to members of the Arlington community suffering from homelessness, violence, or abuse; and
WHEREAS, established in 1978 as the Arlington Community Temporary Shelter, Doorways for Women and Families (Doorways) was the first emergency shelter for children and adults in Arlington County; and
WHEREAS, in its 40-year history, Doorways has grown to provide a range of life-saving and life-changing services that address the complex challenges of homelessness, domestic violence, and sexual assault with dignity, respect, and compassion; and
WHEREAS, as a public-private partnership, Doorways utilizes every resource available to strengthen the community and has helped people of all races, ages, genders, and income levels reduce the impact of traumatic events and build personal resiliency; and
WHEREAS, in 2017, Doorways provided emergency residential services to 253 adults and children, 96 percent of whom subsequently returned to safe housing; of the 138 children in the program, 87 percent were enrolled in a licensed daycare; and
WHEREAS, the Doorways Sexual and Domestic Violence Hotline responded to 2,390 calls, and members of Doorways accompanied and supported 60 survivors of abuse during hospital visits and forensic exams; and
WHEREAS, 407 survivors received trauma counseling through the Doorways Revive Domestic and Sexual Violence Counseling Program, with 95 percent of participants reporting a reduction of trauma symptoms, and 342 survivors seeking legal representation through the Doorways Court Advocacy Program; and
WHEREAS, Doorways has succeeded in its mission with the dedicated leadership of its board of directors, the hard work of its staff and volunteers, and the generosity of community partners and donors; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Doorways for Women and Families for its legacy of support to victims of homelessness, violence, or abuse on the occasion of its 40th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Doorways for Women and Families as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for the organization’s vital role in the Arlington community.
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