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As the U.S. moves toward COVID-19 recovery, domestic violence nonprofits can help one of the most vulnerable populations rebound. Continuing its commitment to advancing financial security and education for survivors through its Moving Ahead Curriculum, The Allstate Foundation provided a $61,000 Moving Ahead Grant to the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The Moving Ahead grants are part of the Foundation’s commitment to ending domestic violence through financial empowerment with its Moving Ahead Curriculum, at MovingAheadOnline.org. Twenty-seven state coalitions will receive a total of $1.3 million this year, part of the more than $85 million the Foundation has invested over the past 16 years.

DCADV is proud to partner with Child, Inc. and People’s Place on this grant. This grant has enabled these partners to build their capacity to provide financial literacy education to victims, and our ability to support a culture of savings and financial independence.

This year, DCADV has been able to reach an additional 142 survivors, and many face similar barriers to long-term safety. For example, one project participant was chronically homeless and experiencing domestic violence for a number of years. When they began the financial literacy class, they shared that prior to the class they had no clarity on what to do with her financial situation.  She was couch surfing and staying from hotel to hotel. She was in financial debt due to her abuser abusing her credit. While in the shelter and taking the financial literacy class, she was able to work on her credit report and contacted all the companies and places who had judgments against her. Advocates were able to help assist her to clear off some of her judgments and repair her credit report. She participated in all of the modules, has completed her match savings and opened up a savings account. Her credit score has increased and she plans to take the financial literacy course again.  She expressed feeling more hopeful about the future.

Another remarkable accomplishment this year has been the broadening of DCADV’s and partners’ focus on financial literacy and economic justice. As has previously been reported, DCADV leveraged the work of the Allstate grant in applying for and receiving additional funding to prevent and address gender based violence through financial literacy. These efforts of the last few years led to an Economic Justice Summit held in October 2020 in collaboration with the University of Delaware’s Biden Institute of Public Policy. The Summit had a three-part focus, with part two focusing on the importance of financial literacy and credit building supports for victims. This summit brought together state officials, leaders, businesses, and advocates, and highlighted the benefits of the Allstate project. The Summit has helped launch follow up discussions on ways to improve policies and practices in Delaware.

A final accomplishment we would like to highlight is related to our project partners’ efforts to maintain these services through the past year. Child, Inc. and People’s Place have experienced unprecedented hurdles over the past year due to the state of emergency and the public health crisis. Despite the crisis, partners explored ways to get the information and credit building supports to survivors in their programs. Because of the need to shelter in hotels, many of these services had to shift from a group format to one on one instructions. Nevertheless, staff view these services as critical and have worked to ensure that quality classes and supports are maintained. This crisis has exposed the financial vulnerability that many people live with, and we are better positioned to act and to work with others to implement policies to address inequities, increase opportunities, and increase access to financial security.

The Allstate Foundation is an independent charitable organization made possible by subsidiaries of The Allstate Corporation. Since 2005, the Foundation has invested over $85 million to end domestic violence and financial abuse and helped more than 2.5 million survivors rebuild their lives through financial empowerment. You can follow @AllstateFDN on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

Delaware Hotline Numbers:

In New Castle County, call 302-762-6110

In Kent/Sussex Counties, call 302-422-8058 or Abriendo Puertas at 302-745-9874

 

DCADV’s partners for this Allstate Foundation Grant:

Child, Inc. 302-762-8989

People’s Place 302-422-8033

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  • Alert! Computer use can be monitored.

    Computer Safety

    WARNING!

    If you are being stalked or abused, take steps to keep your abuser from knowing you are looking for help. Please use a safer computer, or call 911, one of Delaware's local hotlines at 302-762-6110 for New Castle County or 302-422-8058 for Kent & Sussex Counties , or the U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 and TTY 1-800-787-3224.

    EMERGENCY "QUICK ESCAPE" BUTTON

    There is a red Quick Escape button in the lower right-hand corner of every page on this website.
    Click this button if your abuser enters the room while you are viewing this website. It will close this website and redirect your browser to a neutral page.

    Clean up Your Online Path

    Internet Safety

    Everything you do online is recorded. It is IMPOSSIBLE to clear your tracks completely. Your computer stores hundreds of bits of information about everything you do with your computer, including information about which websites you've visited, your passwords, and what your emails say. An abuser can easily track the websites you visit or read your email messages.

    If you suspect your activities are being monitored, they probably are. Abusers are often controlling and want to know your every move. You don’t need to be a computer programmer or have special skills to monitor someone’s computer activities – anyone can do it and there are many ways to monitor your activities - even without having direct access to your computer. Using a separate computer is best, but you can protect yourself at home by familiarizing yourself with processes like private browsing, deleting your browser history, clearing your cache and deleting cookies.

    You can be tracked

    Your abuser can track your online actions – there is nothing you can do to remove your tracks completely. If you try to erase your tracks, your abuser might become suspicious.
    If you think you might be in danger, use a computer at a public library, internet cafe or a trusted friend’s house. If your abuser sends you email, do not open it on those computers.

    If you need help now, call 911 or the
    New Castle County Domestic Violence Hotline: 302-762-6110
    Kent & Sussex County Domestic Violence Hotline: 302-422-8058
    Kent & Sussex County Bi-lingual Domestic Violence Hotline: 302-745-9874
    US National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233
    US National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-4673
    US National Teen Dating Violence Helpline 1-866-331-9474

    Email Safety

    Email is not a safe or confidential way to communicate.

    Sending email is like sending a postcard through the mail. Anyone along the path can read what it says. If you need to talk to someone about the danger or abuse in your life, if possible, please call a hotline instead.

    If you must use email to discuss your situation we suggest you use an account that your abuser doesn't know about. Set up a new account with a free email service like hotmail, yahoo, or gmail.

    Password Safety

    Be smart about passwords to keep your abuser out of your accounts.

    DO NOT use a name or password that contains any identifying information (no names, nicknames, initials, birthdates, zipcodes, etc.) Instead use a name and password that contains a random mix of letters, CAPITAL letters and numbers (for example, HJ3v67Tn) -

    Make sure you can remember the user name and password. If you must write it down somewhere, put it in a place your abuser is unlikely to find it.

    If the computer asks if you would like it to save your password or login information tell it NO.

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