Most people know DomesticShelters.org for its ability to help people experiencing domestic violence find help faster and easier than ever before. Since the site was launched 4 months ago it has helped more than 44,000 different people. A lesser-known aspect to the forward-thinking site is that it is also breaking new ground by quantifying a wide variety of information on domestic violence programs, now on a state-by-state basis.
Visitors to the site can now discover 118 graphs and data points on the degree to which domestic violence services are being offered in each state. To do so, scroll over “Resources” in the site’s main navigation, select “Statistics” and then the state you wish to explore.
The state-level information is culled from the domesticshelters.org database of self-reported information from more than 3,000 domestic violence programs throughout the U.S. Every 24 hours the site retabulates the results for each state, since programs can and do routinely update any one of the 156 informational fields related to their organization on the site.
“Due to resource issues, fragmentation and technology challenges across the domestic violence advocacy landscape, this sort of information has never before been available all in one place,” said Anita Hildreth, executive director of Theresa’s Fund which in operates DomesticShelters.org.
On each state-level page there is also an alphabetical list of cities within that state where domestic violence programs are offered. Programs are located in more than 1,800 different cities across the U.S. Eventually the site operators plan to roll up the regional-level data into a nationwide summary of services provided by domestic violence programs.
In addition, the new Statistics area of the site offers facts and figures on 11 commonly sought-out national statistical topics such as “Domestic Violence Facts and Statistics”, “Children and Domestic Violence”, “Sexual Assault and Stalking”, “Homelessness and Domestic Violence”, “Law Enforcement, Justice System and Domestic Violence” and more. The national statistics have been aggragated from a variety of studies and sources.
The database behind domesticshelters.org is the largest of its kind ever created, and importantly, gives individual and professional users of the website the ability to enter their location, language and service preferences, and with a single mouse click, instantly see the most proximate, relevant opportunities for help.
According to Google more than 3,000,000 searches are conducted per month for information related to domestic violence, and most often related to seeking help. The website is optimized for smartphone and tablet use, recognizing that consumers are increasingly using their devices to conduct searches. In fact, nearly half of the website’s visitors are from mobile devices.
About Theresa’s Fund
Theresa’s Fund is an Arizona-based 501(c)3 non-profit charity started in 1992 by Preston V. McMurry, Jr. Originally, and at a time when domestic violence wasn’t yet a headline, Theresa’s Fund focused on changing the landscape of domestic violence services in its home state through grant making, board development and fundraising for Arizona-based organizations like East Valley Child Crisis Center, Sojourner Center, Florence Crittenden, Emerge, UMOM, and West Valley Child Crisis Center. In 2014, it developed the DomesticShelters.org concept as a way to expand its reach to people across the U.S./Canada. DomesticShelters.org is the first online and mobile searchable database of programs and shelters in the U.S./Canada, and a leading source of helpful tools and information for people experiencing and working to end domestic violence.
