Identifying and Responding to the Complex Needs of Domestic Violence Housing Practitioners at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Date of Review: March. 2021

Nnawulezi N, Hacskaylo M. Identifying and Responding to the Complex Needs of Domestic Violence Housing Practitioners at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic [published online ahead of print, 2021 Jan 5]. J Fam Violence. 2021;1-11. doi:10.1007/s10896-020-00231-8

This paper contextualizes the intersectionality of intimate partner violence with the COVID-19 pandemic and presents the findings of a qualitative study conducted by the National Alliance for Safe Housing (NASH), a national domestic violence and housing training and technical assistance organization. HASH co-hosted an online meeting called “COVID-19 Resources and Response” in collaboration with its partners from the federal Domestic Violence Housing Technical Assistance Consortium. This meeting’s goal was to provide peer support and technical guidance for practitioners in the domestic violence field during the COVID-19 pandemic.: Practitioners’ primary concerns were situated within eight questions, which were categorized into four meta-categories: (1) managing residential housing programs; (2) getting survivors materials resources; (3) keeping staff safe; and (4) maintaining organizational operations. This is an important paper for policy makers and practitioners working to address housing security as a critical social determinant of health and well-being for survivors of IPV. The authors call for identifying, targeting, and scaling community-based housing strategies that can withstand social, cultural, and political shifts to cultivate a world where all survivors are well-resourced, and IPV is eradicated. —Memoona Hasnain, MD, MHPE, PhD