1. What kinds of services are offered at A Better Way?

Now, for the shelter we that we provide for victims of domestic violence we house women and their children when they are fleeing a violent situation in their homes.  We also provide services for men, however, we do not provide residential services, but can offer them shelter in other places.

We also provide services for victims of sexual assault, where we can meet with them if they are at the hospital or with the police and help them through the crisis period and then whatever types of services they would need following that by way of a victim advocate. We can come and just get them through the crisis, and any long term needs that they have.  If they need to talk to somebody we are always here, 24 hours a day for them to call.

We also provide a crisis line for Delaware County, so that anybody in any type of crisis situation.  If you just need someone to talk to, you can just call our number, and we can take all the time that you need to talk you through the crisis and also refer you to someone in our community where you might be able to longer term help.

In the shelter when a family comes in, we provide more than just a safe place to stay. We also provide support to them in whatever area they need. If they need transportation to get out of town or to get to where they've come from to retrieve some of their belongings, we can take care of that. If they need legal advocacy we can help them when they meet with their attorney or if they need to go to court, or just explain the system to them so they understand better what their options are.  Whatever it is that they are in need of we work on those issues as well as the domestic violence situation, so they have a chance to move forward.

Absolutely not, we provide services to anyone regardless of the level of need they have.  We have support groups, for example, that any victim of domestic violence abuse is welcome to attend, whether they stay in the shelter or not. The same is with our legal advocacy. Any time of advocacy needs that a person would have. If they need items, if they need help relocating, if they need really any type of service related to abuse, we are more than happy to provide it. And they make contact with us in the same manner as a residential client would, but will receive services without having to stay.

With pets, we understand that this is an important issue, and often abusive pets parallels abuse in the home, and so we do our best to be able to accommodate. People can bring their pets, but is generally on a short term basis. Once they get here, we find other arrangements through other providers in the community so that the pets are safe until they move on to whatever their future holds.

We can make no guarantee that an abuser won't know or will find out where our shelter is located. However, what we can say is that we do everything we to keep our facilities secure, so even if they do know the location, you can feel safe, while you stay here. If we find out for sure the abuser knows the location and makes threats, and therefore you are in fear of your safety, even within our four walls, we will help in relocating you to another shelter where they would not know the location. But I can also tell you that we have in our many, many years of service, that's 30 years right now we have very seldom had an abusive person come to the door, so we do feel like we can give you a good degree of a safety and security while you stay here.

The best ways to call are our 288-HELP number. If you call that number you can be set up with any of our services. Also, A Better Way residential service director number is 747-9107, and through that phone call, we can hook you up whatever types of services you would need at that time.

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