DoorwaysVA Blog

From Left: Nina Janopaul, President and CEO, APAH, Doorways' Client, Caroline Jones, Interim Executive Director, and Nicholas Evans, Board President, Doorways

With the purchase of two more units, Doorways for Women and Families now has a 31 percent ownership stake in affordable housing units here in Arlington, which are owned and managed by the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH), the only nonprofit affordable housing developer to work exclusively in and for Arlington County.

This unique partnership between the two organizations will enable us to house five families in family-sized, safe and stable apartments at extremely low rents while providing needed social services to help keep them in their home.

“APAH is committed to helping strengthen the Arlington community by ensuring that affordable housing options are available. Our partnership with Doorways is an important part of this work and ensures that more low-income families stay housed,” said Nina Janopaul, President and CEO, APAH.

“This is a major milestone that will keep more families in our community from experiencing homelessness.  By owning five apartments, we’re able to expand the safety net for more vulnerable families, providing them with a quality place to live and services to stabilize their lives,” explained Caroline Jones, our Interim Executive Director.

Read More About Our Partnership with APAH and Our Efforts to Prevent Homelessness

Our Interim Executive Director, Caroline Jones, was featured this week in the Arlington Connection. Caroline lays out the case for eligibility for protective orders to include dating partners. The Virginia Senate is hearing a bill right now that will accomplish just that. Find out how you can join the fight!

Read Caroline’s article in full:

Kudos to the Virginia General Assembly! They are taking important steps to improve legal protections available to domestic violence survivors. In the proposed legislation, Virginia lawmakers are seeking to broaden the terms of those who are eligible for protective orders by including dating partners. The bill would grant dating partners equal access and protection; the increased access many need to safely leave an abusive partner and redefine family abuse.

Currently, Virginia laws that are designed to protect victims of domestic or intimate partner violence too narrowly define what a relationship is, leaving a large percentage of people at risk. For instance, a person is only eligible for a protective order if (more…)

Not sure how you can help Doorways help domestic violence survivors? Well, you only need a minute. If you want to be the change you want to see in the world then watch below to find out what one minute can do.

Here at Doorways, we have been educating the community about healthy relationships for 30 years.  Namely through our Red Flag Campaign, we have told parents, teens and kids alike that a healthy relationship includes balance, communication, trust, connection and safety.

But, this is the day of love and we would love to hear about your idea of a healthy relationship!  We invite readers, donors, volunteers, and staff members to join the conversation.

What is a healthy relationship?

by Dominique Lamb, former Doorways intern

I dialed 911 for the first time when I was ten years old. My parents were fighting. I heard my mother scream louder than I’d ever heard so I dialed 911 and as my heart raced I told the operator that my father was beating up my mother. The police came and when I came downstairs, my mother lay there with a broken leg. She told the police that she’d slipped while washing dishes in the kitchen. She didn’t want to see my father arrested. It was seven years from that day until they were divorced.

When I was nineteen, I dialed 911 again. I had just been repeatedly hit on my shins by my boyfriend’s car, dragged out of the same car onto the ground, and pushed back down when I’d tried to get up. I told the operator that my boyfriend had pushed me and that I didn’t know where I was — (more…)

Those at greatest risk are the least protected . . .

Join Doorways in supporting legislation in the Virginia General Assembly that would expand those eligible for protective orders to include dating partners.

One of our former interns, Dominique Lamb, was featured in this Washington Post article where she articulated the need for broad legal protection.  We want you to join her in educating our community on dating violence and advocating for this new law.

Join us:

1. Donate to support our education and advocacy efforts of this critical issue
2. Volunteer for our programs
3. Write a Letter to the Editor for your local newspaper or favorite blog
4. Call your Representative in the Virginia General Assembly
5. Spread the word through Social Media by following us on Twitter and Facebook

Help Doorways protect all survivors of abuse, whether they are married or dating.  Abuse is abuse and we must say so.  If you want to help advocate on behalf of this issue, email Wyatt at wschroeder@doorwaysva.org

Happy New Year!

We had a very successful holiday season at Doorways and we cannot thank our donors enough! We met our year-end goal, sponsored out all of our families for our Holiday Wishes program and loaded up our storage space. What better way to tell you “thanks” than to share happy holiday stories from two of our programs?

From the Safehouse: It was such a fun night as parents all cooked together on Christmas Eve and set out gifts from Santa (there are three parents in the house who celebrate in this way.) Christmas morning, there were six kids scrambling about who were so excited as they shared their gifts with staff, saying “look at this!” and “look what Santa brought me!” The families in the house were so grateful for the volunteers and donors who made this holiday season extra special for them. They were extremely humbled by the generosity, as several acknowledged by saying things like, “all this is for us?!” and “we can have more than one thing?!”

From the HomeStart Program: One of our former Family Home clients joined the HomeStart program and moved into her own apartment in November. She wanted to personalize the apartment and make it her own with a festive Christmas tree, but could not afford one. A Doorways’ supporter came to the rescue and donated an artificial tree, which overjoyed the client. She was also able to place presents under her very own Christmas tree for her son, thanks to additional donors who participated in the Holiday Wishes program. She was thrilled to be able to give her son a Christmas in their own home!