[PRpond]
Nearly 50% of pet-owning women will delay leaving an abusive home because they are afraid for the lives of their pets. Help victims and their pets safely escape abuse together.
-- "Build 33 Feet Of Kenneling For The Pets Of Domestic Violence Victims -- FUNDED June 5 2017 – Thank You!"
In the last few years, researchers and advocates have examined how pet abuse and domestic violence are related, and how important pets are to domestic abuse victims.
Research shows that domestic violence offenders often have a pattern of abuse involving all members of the household – including children and pets.
As a result, domestic violence victims that own pets must try to find shelters/organizations that will take companion animals or leave their pets with their abuser.
Domestic abuse victims shouldn’t have to make the terrible choice between leaving to save themselves and their children and leaving their pets behind with an abusive partner. The solution? Create safe spaces where domestic violence victims, their children, and their pets can all go together.
While there are about 1,500 shelters for victims of domestic abuse in the United States, very few are able to accommodate animals. This leaves women in a position where they feel trapped – either remain in a situation that threatens themselves and their children, or leave their pets behind.
We are partnering with RedRover’s Safe Housing program to retrofit women’s shelters to be able to accept animals. It only costs $5000 to transform a domestic violence shelter into a safe haven for victims and their pets.
Help empower victims to save themselves, their children, and their pets. You can help build kenneling for pet victims.
RedRover Domestic Violence Safe Housing grants enable organizations that provide emergency sheltering for victims of domestic violence to create space to house pets of domestic violence victims on-site with their families where little to no pet housing was previously available. Grants are intended to bridge a critical gap in funding to enable the pet housing project to begin. It is expected that the funds will enable the shelter of at least one pet within one year after project completion.
GRANT DETAILS HERE: https://redrover.org/domestic-violence-safe-housing-grants
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Relevant statistics on domestic violence and animal abuse (from RedRover.org):
-- 52 percent of victims in shelters leave their pets with their batterers (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)
-- Up to 65 percent of domestic violence victims are unable to escape their abusers because they are concerned about what will happen to their pets when they leave (Carlisle-Frank, Frank and Nielsen, 2004)
-- 71 percent of pet-owning women entering women’s shelters reported that their batterer had injured, maimed, killed or threatened family pets for revenge or to psychologically control victims; 32 percent reported their children had hurt or killed animals (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)
To help domestic violence victims find organizations/shelter that take pets, the Animal Welfare Institute put together a list of groups in the US that either provide sheltering services for the companion animals of domestic violence victims, have a relationship with an entity that does, or provide referrals to these facilities.
