True North Of Columbia Inc

In 2024, true north's transitional living program served 16 families, including 15 women, 17 children, and 1 man, providing 5,388 nights of transitional housing and 546 supportive services such as case management, crisis intervention, housing advocacy, counseling, court-related assistance, individual child sessions, child care, support groups, and life skills classes. The average length of stay for families was 163 days. The primary goal of the transitional living program is to provide stable housing while reducing the effects of domestic or sexual violence and removing barriers to survivor self-sufficiency. In 2024, seven families exited the program, with all but one transitioning in place to safe, affordable, permanent housing, and 100% of these families successfully completed the program. Three new families entered the program and obtained safe, affordable housing with rent and utilities subsidized by true north through a department of justice - office of violence against women grant, and they also received assistance with security deposits from other agency resources. Participants were offered counseling, case management, support groups, life skills training, and other supportive services, with all participants opting to receive voluntary ongoing support. True north continues to witness significant growth in participants' self-esteem and resiliency despite past trauma and multiple barriers. Since the program's inception three years ago, 88.2% of program graduates have remained stably housed for over one year. At program exit, 100% of participants met at least 50% of their goals, and 84% met 75% or more of their goals.

In 2024, true north's non-residential services program served 535 victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, providing over 5,910 supportive advocacy services. These services included individual counseling, support groups, crisis intervention, case management, domestic violence and sexual assault education, safety planning, financial assistance, court and hospital advocacy, parenting sessions, child education sessions, and assistance with ex parte and full orders of protection. The primary goal of non-residential services is to empower victims through education and support. Among participants completing exit interviews and surveys in 2024, 85.71% reported progress toward safety goals, 100% reported progress in addressing emotional needs, 83.33% reported progress on legal goals, 100% reported progress in building support systems, and 100% reported progress in utilizing community resources. Additionally, 96.67% of respondents reported feeling more hopeful about the future, and 96.67% reported a better understanding of domestic violence and sexual assault as a result of the services received.

True north's outreach program provides opportunities for individuals to become involved in changing attitudes and preventing domestic violence and sexual assault. In 2024, true north staff facilitated 47 presentations and educational sessions for civic organizations, students, medical and law enforcement personnel, and other service provider agencies, reaching over 3,610 individuals.