Residential domestic violence programs provide comprehensive, quality, community-based domestic violence emergency shelter services for survivors and their children that are meaningfully accessible to the diverse populations across the Commonwealth and grounded in social justice and a well-being approach.
Services offered
Residential programs offer survivors and their children and/or dependents safe, culturally relevant, trauma-informed services. These include housing or housing support, safety planning, emotional support, advocacy with systems, referrals to relevant community services, and assistance with meeting basic needs.
- Emergency Shelter (ES) services include temporary refuge for domestic or sexual violence survivors, their children, and/or their other dependents who feel at imminent risk of violence or abuse, and a range of activities and services designed to support the individual, familial, and social needs of survivors of domestic violence and their children/dependents.
- Domestic Violence, Substance Misuse, and Trauma Shelter (DVSMT) services support survivors by providing refuge for survivors who need to leave an unsafe situation due to domestic and/or sexual violence and need longer-term recovery support to address substance use and/or trauma. They also provide a range of activities and services designed to support the individual, familial, and social needs of survivors of domestic violence, their children, and/or their other dependents. Services are provided in a holistic manner that acknowledges the complexity of struggling with multiple intersecting life challenges.
- Housing Stabilization (HS) services provide stable family housing and concrete support services to help program participants access and maintain permanent housing, locate employment and/or attend school, parent their children, and generally prepare for economic independence.
All residential domestic violence services are provided in accordance with M.G.L. c. 233 s.20k by trained domestic violence advocates and/or volunteers who are receiving on-going supervision
Find a provider
Search a provider near you. Some of these providers also offer other services. Learn more about funded services and programming on Find Sexual and Domestic Violence Services.