PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Daniris Espinal, Survivor and Mother, on Domestic Violence and Housing
1:42:09
·
3 min
Daniris Espinal, a mother and survivor of domestic violence, testifies about the interconnectedness of domestic violence and homelessness in New York City. She highlights the challenges survivors face in finding stable housing after leaving abusive situations and emphasizes the importance of safe and affordable housing options for survivors.
- Only 9% of survivors found permanent housing in 2023, while 50% moved to another shelter
- Emergency shelters provide housing for up to 180 days, which is often not enough time for survivors to rebuild their lives
- Espinal stresses that housing is just the beginning of the healing process for survivors and calls for more public education on domestic violence
Daniris Espinal
1:42:09
Good afternoon.
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Committee chairs Ayala and Lewis, members of the city council and staff, My name is Danidis Espinane.
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I'm a mother and a survivor.
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Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness, especially for women and children.
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Anyone can experience domestic violence that doesn't discriminate on social economic status.
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Gender, cultural, or religion.
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Domestic violence is about course of control, isolating, monitoring, restricting, and manipulating the victims or survivors' reality.
1:42:46
There is an interconnectedness between domestic violence and homelessness based on new your new destiny's report.
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The decision is to leave to leave an abusive partner can be complicated by fears of homelessness and city shelters.
1:43:03
In many cases, the survivor flees the situation with their children.
1:43:08
It's a time of survival.
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In 2023, survivors were five more times likely to move to another shelter than to permanent housing.
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That year, 50% of survivors moved to another shelter, while only 9% found a permanent home.
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Emergency shelters only provided stabilized housing for up to a 180 days.
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Without a safe place.
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To rebuild their lives, survivors may be forced to remain in abusive situations, putting their lives at risk.
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Nationally, 1 in 5 homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner.
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The barriers for survivors to access supportive housing are the lack of safe and affordable apartments available, the length of time it takes to complete paperwork and inspections when renting with a subsidy, the length of time it takes to move into a supportive housing, set aside units, and or lottery units to name some.
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Stabilized housing is crucial for a survivor.
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To heal and to regain control of their life, providing access to shelters, but not importantly, a safe home can be lifesaving.
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I would like to remind decision makers that these are not just numbers, that you're seeing.
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These are people like you and me.
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As a society, we have to cultivate the compassion and empathy towards the children.
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The children suffer greatly.
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Domestic violence is not a glamorous theme.
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However, we need to normalize having these conversations more often.
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Educate the public of the red flags and the dangers of domestic violence.
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How can neighbors or communities help?
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How can anyone help if they can identify what is going on?
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As a survivor myself, I would say that housing is just the beginning to start healing.
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The survivor deserves to be heard and seen.
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These resources can help validate the survivor's experiences and help ease the stigma and shame.
1:45:16
Thank you for having me today.
