May 21, 2009 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Cornerstone, a Bloomington, Minn., charity that works to prevent domestic violence, is trying to make it easier for shelters across the country to share real-time information about open emergency beds and support services.
The nonprofit group runs Day One, a secure online service that allows domestic-violence shelters around Minnesota to quickly learn which among them can accommodate new residential clients.
Last fall, it began duplicating the program at 13 Seattle-area domestic-violence shelters, its first out-of-state program. Susan Neis, Cornerstone’s executive director, says she hopes the electronic clearinghouse could grow into a national network as well as generate income for her organization via the sale of annual digital certificates for the secure network connections.
Each participating organization in the Seattle program — which will cost $25,000 in software and training expenses — will pay $1,000 in order to connect up to five computers to the Day One system.
Providing real-time information is important, Ms. Neis says: “[If] I am in crisis right now, I need to know how can I get to a safe place with one phone call.”
Under Minnesota’s old system, if victims called a full shelter, advocates gave them a list of other shelters to call. With each call, victims would have to retell their story, adding to the trauma, says Ms. Neis. Some, she says, would give up until the next battering.
With Day One, an advocate at a full shelter can still help a victim, even if no beds are available at that particular facility. The online program tells the user which shelters have open beds and the largest number of family members the charities can accommodate. The system also indicates whether a shelter serves groups with unique needs such as unaccompanied youth or sex-trafficking victims.
The advocate discusses options with the victim and transfers the call to a shelter with space — and stays on the line long enough to make sure the person gets help.
For more information: Go to http://www.dayoneservices.org.
