Women's Advocates

No one deserves abuse.  

October 11, 2019, marked 45 years of shelter at Women’s Advocates, the first domestic violence shelter in the U.S. In the 1970s, our founding collective built paths to safety despite discouragement from the community. 

Forty-five years later, domestic violence persists, and Women’s Advocates’ response is wide-reaching with 150+ partners working with us to provide crisis support for the 1 in 3 women, 1 in 7 men and 1 in 2 transgender people experiencing domestic violence (CDC, NCTE).  Meanwhile, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), reauthorized by the U.S. House this year, has yet to receive the attention of the Senate. 

Watch this 2-minute video about what it means to be an advocate, from those who were are part of the movement in the '70s:

Women's Advocates needs support from online donors LIKE YOU to keep our prevention, emergency shelter, crisis line, and sustained safety/housing advocacy going strong.  Please give meaningfully!

A gift to Women's Advocates puts domestic violence safety resources in schools, workplaces, apartment buildings, clinics, worship places, and businesses. 

A gift to Women's Advocates keeps our crisis line running 24/7.

A gift to Women's Advocates creates a safety plan for a victim/survivor that they use during and after their stay at our emergency shelter. 

A gift to Women's Advocates gives a survivor a chance to stay stably housed after leaving our shelter.

Our shelter in St. Paul consistently operates at capacity, and there is an urgent, daily need to help more women and children find a place of safety.   Your gift will provide a victim/survivor advocacy, peer group activities, housing and employment assistance, child-focused programming, mental health services, and referrals to community resources. Your gift will provide affirmation and resources to victim/survivors throughout the community who find one of our crisis cards or safety pamphlets where they live, learn, work or gather through the outreach efforts of our Safety Resource Crews. 

Your support saves lives.