Domestic violence survivors move out of abusive relationships and into school
A Boston-area initiative helps women gain the skills they need to become financially self-reliant and free from their abusers.
from the October 18, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
HarborCOV helps 300 people a year with emergency shelter, but about 3,000 people from the immigrant-rich community near Boston seek counseling, transitional housing, child care, and other services in the wake of domestic violence.
In a survey two years ago, 35 percent said they wanted to continue their education, but they needed financial and other types of assistance, says Analia Lemmo, HarborCOV's economic development coordinator. Child care for evening courses is difficult to find, and financial aid often doesn't cover classes for English as a second language, she says. "The other barrier has to do with self-esteem.... People that have gone through domestic violence and abuse, they usually have doubts about their own capacity.... They need to sometimes have reassurance that they can do this."
The organizers received a $20,000 grant from the Boston Foundation to launch the initiative in the fall of 2006. Nearly 20 people signed up to attend a class of their choice and meet regularly with advisers and the group. At the end of the school year, 87 percent were still enrolled – a retention rate that organizers found surprisingly high. This year, with a $25,000 grant from the Stratford Foundation Inc. in Needham, Mass., they expect about 25 students to participate, including some who started last year.
"The goal is to give them everything they need so they can overcome the barriers they're facing, but we also want to treat them just like every other college student," says Judith Graham, a staff member at Bunker Hill who oversees the grant. Advisers help students apply for financial aid and find other resources so they can continue their studies beyond what the grant covers.
Ms. Lemmo has seen the confidence of participants soar. Whether they have mastered computer skills that improved their performance on the job or have begun degree programs that they couldn't have imagined before, they take great pride in their accomplishments, she says. "Chelsea is a small community.... Sometimes you're walking and someone comes up and says, 'Look at my grade.... I got an A!' " At the end of the academic year, she surveyed participants and all of them wanted to get into a degree program, if they weren't already.
"We think this project has potential to be replicated in other communities," Lemmo says. She hopes this year they'll be able to offer technical service to other Massachusetts community colleges and domestic-violence organizations that want to pair up.
There's a long tradition of community colleges serving the needs of particular groups, whether it was special programs during the women's movement in the 1970s or single parents or people with disabilities, says Norma Kent of the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington. "It boils down to access," she says. "It's the cornerstone of our mission.... Any population, any individual should have some point of access" to higher education.
The HarborCOV group's academic adviser at Bunker Hill, MaryAnne Miller, draws an analogy to the Statue of Liberty: "Students come in at all different levels, from all different places, at all different points in their lives, and the community college is ... flexible enough to give services."
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