Women’s Services first opened the doors of The Greenhouse in 1978. Since then, we have provided a safe haven for the women and children of Crawford County who are in crisis due to domestic violence, sexual violence or homelessness. The Greenhouse provides over 5,000 days of shelter annually.
Often, a shelter is the only option for a woman who wants to leave a violent relationship. It may not be safe for her to stay with friends or family members because the abusive partner is aware of these locations. Or, she has become so isolated from a support network that there is nowhere else to go for help. Shelter provides a safe and supportive environment where women and their children to heal physically and emotionally.
When survivors of domestic violence seek shelter, most domestic violence programs have them complete what is called a needs assessment as a part of the intake process. Women’s Services however subscribes to Lupe Serrano’s philosophy: “When you start with needs, you get programs. When you start with strengths you get possibilities.” Our strengths assessment approach is based on Tom Rath’s Strengths Finder 2.0 and uses a collaborative process where survivors and advocates work together to determine an outcome that draws on each survivor’s strengths and assets. A strengths-based approach values the capacity, skills, knowledge, connections and potential in survivors. Focusing on strengths does not mean ignoring challenges, or spinning struggles into strengths. Advocates and survivors working this way have to work in collaboration – helping survivors to do things for themselves. In this way, survivors can become co-producers of support, not passive consumers of support. The primary focus is not on problems or deficits, and the individual is supported to recognize the inherent resources they have at their disposal which they can employ to counteract when a hurdle presents itself as they invariably do.
