After undergoing major surgery, Ms. Headly required a cane to walk. Because her apartment was being renovated, her landlord temporarily moved her to another unit. Soon thereafter, Ms. Headly realized her new apartment was completely infested with bedbugs. 

This wasn’t the first time he’d hit her, but she was always terrified to call the police. Her boyfriend, a retired police officer, always told her no one would believe her. But Ms. Laurens had recently begun fostering her grandchildren and knew she had to get them away from his abuse. 

Ms. Brown, a mental health therapist, was supposed to be paid by the session. When she started working in July 2016, it seemed like a straightforward arrangement: she should submit notes at the end of each session to be paid for them. For the first month, this worked well. Things quickly changed.

Today, as an attorney working on behalf of low-income clients facing housing instability, there is something sanitized about my profession and my persona.  When I meet with clients, I presume that I can access all kinds of personal information about them – but that they will not learn anything about me.  I am neutral, unmarked, The Professional – not a human being with personality quirks, and certainly not a human being with a first-hand experience of poverty. Perhaps attorneys have more in common with our clients than we are used to looking for.  And perhaps sharing those stories, forging those connections, is worth the risk of letting our professional masks drop.

More than 100 friends of AVLF and Warner Bates gathered at the law firm’s penthouse offices on the evening of Thursday, August 24, to celebrate and raise funds for the Guardian ad Litem Program. 

One of the first things you learn in domestic violence training at AVLF is that violence can occur in any relationship, regardless of gender, race, or sexual orientation. We saw that firsthand. She was married to her abuser for decades and had several children with him. Both were highly educated, well-employed, and, to the outside world, had presented as a nearly perfect family. Until he tried to kill her.

Nearly 150 friends of AVLF gathered at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema on Tuesday, September 20, 2016 for a screening of Private Violence, which tells a story of violence, frustration, and sadness that also includes resilience, promise, and even hope for victims of intimate partner violence who choose to stand up against their abuser.

On Monday, September 21, 2015, AVLF hosted the second installment of AVLF at the Movies and featured the groundbreaking HBO Documentary Film Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life and Times of Katrina Gilbert. Over 200 friends of AVLF attended the powerful documentary chronicling the daily struggle of a working mother of three, Katrina Gilbert. 

Directed by Emmy award-winning filmmakers Joe and Harry Gantz (Taxicab Confessions, The Defenders) American Winter follows the personal stories of eight families struggling in the wake of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

We are grateful to our July 2017 volunteers.

The statistics surrounding the overlap between housing problems and domestic violence are staggering: 39% of cities in the U.S. cited domestic violence as the primary cause of family homelessness.

Children who accompany their parents to the SFO can entertain themselves with a new kids’ kitchen, which includes kid-sized pots and pans and play food.