The crucial work that 1736 Family Crisis Center undertakes with the support of community friends, funders, and volunteers can immeasurably enrich and improve the lives of women and children fleeing violence at home.

This is cause for celebration, especially in our changing, uncertain world.

Domestic violence victims fleeing violent partners who do not choose to enroll in shelter care often require a variety of assistance to keep safe and off the streets. So it was with Elena*, a 36-year-old mother of three who reached 1736 Family Crisis Center's Los Angeles community service center three months after leaving an abusive 20-year marriage.

A 1736 Family Crisis Center intake specialist first talked with Elena about the challenges she and her children faced. She then referred Elena to a 1736 Family Crisis Center case manager. He conducted a thorough assessment of the family's needs and provided referrals to meet specific areas of concern.

For instance, Elena turned to our welfare-to-work program to get help to find a job. She and her two adolescent sons also began seeing 1736 Family Crisis Center counselors on an outpatient basis. Elena worked to improve her self-image and to heal from years of terror and turmoil. Her sons began the task of overcoming damage resulting from both witnessing and directly experiencing their father's beatings. All received information about domestic violence and the harm it causes, as well as the healthy behaviors they could embrace to create violence-free lives.

Elena and her sons made steady progress on their treatment goals and transitioned from individual into family counseling. Here, Elena's older teenage daughter joined them to explore and develop better ways of communicating and interacting with each other. Family counseling also gave them the opportunity to collectively address how domestic violence had affected their lives as individuals and as a family.

As Elena gained self-esteem, she was referred to and began attending parenting and ESL classes. Now she has a job she enjoys and continues to benefit from ongoing support provided by her 1736 Family Crisis Center job counselor.

During the holidays, Elena and her family "shopped" for gifts at a 1736 Family Crisis Center holiday store. Community supporters helped stock the site with toys and games, clothing, sports equipment, cosmetics and bath items, CDs and radios, and a multitude of other items designed to appeal to people of every age.

Elena's daughter is now preparing to go to college, reflecting the more promising future all family members can enjoy today – thanks to the support of caring 1736 Family Crisis Center donors, volunteers, and friends.

*Specific identifying information has been changed to protect the family

For many domestic violence victims, a shelter stay represents the crucial first step toward a safer, more promising life. Some residents of 1736 Family Crisis Center's domestic violence shelters describe their experience here:

"My shelter stay gave me time to evaluate who I was and what my needs were, and to develop a productive plan for the future."

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"The staff was so supportive and helpful with all the legal and emotional turmoil I've been going through. They have encouraged me, directed me, and validated me, my feelings, and my needs. I know I am a stronger person because of them."

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"The shelter program has helped me overcome things in my life I've carried around for years. I have been blessed to have come into contact with such a great group of people who listen and hear you when you speak and allow you to just heal. I am a new person."

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"The program helped me recognize my value as a woman, define my dreams, and develop the trust that I can realize them."

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"Shelter care saved me; if it wasn't for 1736, I don't know where I'd be now."

*Names are changed to protect client confidentiality

The challenges are great, but 1736 Family Crisis Center has developed a range of intensive specialized services that have proven effective in helping domestic violence victims and their children turn their lives around.

This includes emergency and up to two years of nurturing shelter for women and their children, girls and boys prenatal through age 17. Shelters are located at confidential sites throughout Los Angeles.

Our community service centers offer counseling for children, teens, and adults not requiring immediate shelter. We also provide job training, search, and placement services for abused women on welfare residing in our shelters or in the community and other key aid.

Our 24-hour domestic violence hotlines offer immediate help and referrals. You can reach us now at:
(213) 745-6434
(213) 222-1237
(310) 370-5902
(562) 388-7652

For more information, click here.