Foundation Grant to CORA Supports Housing Survivors of Domestic Abuse
In August 2021, the SAMCAR Foundation awarded CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse) a $2,500 grant to provide support towards keeping domestic violence survivors and their children safely housed in the San Carlos area.
The following report provides a snapshot of the impact of this partnership on the lives of survivors of intimate partner abuse and their children.
CORA's Report to San Mateo County Association of Realtors Grant Reporting Period: August 2021 – June 2022
Accomplishments
The below numbers provide a snapshot of the impact of your partnership on the lives of survivors of intimate partner abuse and their children during the grant term from August 2021 to today. With your generosity, those who turned to us for help accessed a wide range of crisis intervention and supportive services:
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Provided 79 individuals with emergency shelter through our Safe House Program or hoteling
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Provided 129 households (194 individuals) with supportive housing, including case management, rental subsidies and other cash assistance.
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Provided 298 subsidy payments and 54 other instances of cash assistance
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Responded to 4,659 calls via our 24-hour Crisis Hotline
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Responded to 3,165 police referrals via our 24-hour law enforcement referral program
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Provided 949 callers with legal information and advice via our Legal Hotline
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Appeared in court 90 times as attorney of record in a survivor's family law case
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Accompanied 25 survivors to court hearings and child custody mediation appointments
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Provided 178 adults and 79 children with individual or family therapy, 242 individuals with group therapy, and a further 81 adults and 14 children have completed individual assessments and will receive treatment at CORA or referred to an outside provider if better served elsewhere
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CORA staff educated 1,492 community members about intimate partner abuse
CORA has seen positive changes in leadership over the past year. Karen Ferguson, formerly Executive Director of the Northern California offices of International Rescue Committee, became CORA's new CEO in April of 2021. We have added other key staff members in order to bolster our Programs, as well as our Finance and Development Departments. We are now more equipped to handle the demand with more staff on hand.
Barriers
The COVID-19 pandemic presented some unprecedented challenges to our organization over the past two years, including an increase in demand for services. CORA's programs switched to an almost entirely virtual platform when it came to providing mental health services and community education. Our Emergency Response Program (ERP) saw a significant increase in hoteling needs due to the capacity limits in our safe houses and wait times due to COVID testing. Despite all of these challenges though, CORA remained open and fully functioning during this trying time and has continued to provide vital services to our clients in need. We have learned that the virtual platform is most likely here to stay and we are realizing some of its benefits while trying to incorporate this method into a more long-term strategy.
Despite this past year being a challenge in staffing up our organization and finding qualified candidates, CORA has filled many of its vacancies now. The organization is much better positioned with staff than one year ago and we are seeing positive improvements internally.
Opportunities
With new leadership has come new opportunity, strategy, and direction. Our Board of Directors continues to remain fully supportive of these changes and has embraced new opportunities for growth themselves, such as attending a 3-day DEI training alongside the CORA leadership team in 2021. While the training portion is complete, the ongoing goal of CORA is to grow as a racial equity organization and to embrace the change that is needed in order to accomplish this both internally and externally. These trainings helped us effectively engage in interracial dialogue, which gave us the tools to help us sustain a model of addressing racial disparities intentionally and comprehensively. CORA staff participated in an additional and separate training on communicating authentically with one another, embracing differences, and being mindful during conversation.
As an organization, we are also undergoing a deep dive into strategic action planning. Leadership has decided to incorporate every staff member into these discussions – from high level strategic planning for the organization to more specifically within specific programs themselves. We are in the beginning stages of this process and we are excited for what this will bring to the organization as a whole.
