From the Shelter to Self-Sufficiency!

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Are you aware?

“Half of all homeless women and children in the U.S. are fleeing from domestic violence” (ACLU, 2014 March).

As a victim of abuse, leaving your home and relationship is hard enough. Compounded with the uncertainty of where to go and how to afford getting or staying there, it can be overwhelming. Brighton College is proud of the women that have taken this first step, in spite of their fear and overwhelming odds. 

Many of today’s shelters are facing overcrowding. Add to that the costs and time involved in providing support and respite services, and many shelters struggle to locate and afford the resources needed to provide self-sufficiency in a limited amount of time. Brighton College is proud to partner with four domestic abuse shelters in Arizona to provide them our service of education.

Our Service of Education

None of us can tackle every domestic abuse issue, but we can all do something. Brighton College is doing what it can by providing our education in a way that helps shelters decrease the cost of training and the amount of time needed to complete a program that leads to certification in an in-demand career field. We want the women who have had the courage to take a stand and risk it all to find confidence, financial security, and to do it in a way where they can take the least amount of time getting from the starting point to employment.

We offer some training programs that can be completed in as little as three to six months. Others can take ten to fifteen months, but all of them are intended to help the shelters fit career readiness within their limited residence availability. Brighton College wants to help residents get trained, certified, and employed as quickly as possible, so they can comfortably transition from the shelter into their own independence.

Our virtual vocational training supports the computer skills of its students while providing flexibility in their studies. It allows them a chance to work at their own pace, eliminates the need to commute to a campus or attend class at set times, and allows them to study when it is convenient, like at night after the kids are asleep.

Support Services for Student Success

In order to keep training costs low, our services are optional and intended to be provided when needed and not to duplicate existing services. They include:

1. Behavioral Assessment – This is to identify the individual’s motivators and to help them better understand their inherent skills and tendencies. Demonstrable proof of their strengths and abilities!
2. Student Success Coach – A point of contact to support the student in their studies and to help them stay engaged and be successful. A cheerleader for their future!
3. EmployAbility team – Prepares students with crafting resumes and cover letters, designing a social media presence, practicing for interviews, and upon graduation, finding opportunities to secure employment. An advocate for their self-sufficiency!
4. Industry Certification Vouchers – To cover the preparation and cost of the industry examination and related study materials, when appropriate. Certified proof!

Other services include tutoring, technical support, and e-books, just to name a few, and all services can be included or excluded based on support and budgetary considerations.

So What’s the Holdup?

Almost always, it comes down to how to fund education. This is why Brighton College has done it’s best to provide training that can cost less than $800 per year per student, and some programs are even half of that. If you have a good donor base, we can provide you with a flat rate for a set number of students that will provide a positive return on the donor’s sponsorship and on your resident’s outcomes.  

We can also work with you on applying grant funding to maximize the number of residents that can access training, and then we can use that data to ensure you have real results to use for future grant applications. If you have access to state education funds, we’re happy to work with your state agency and do our best to ensure that the amount provided by the state for specific funding would fully cover training programs for your residents.

Our Service and Your Shelter

Do you manage or know of a domestic abuse shelter that is facing any of these struggles or could benefit from our education service? Let us know how we can help and we’ll be happy to craft a customized plan that meets your needs and maximizes access for your residents as they work toward self-sufficiency and a better future!

American Civil Liberties Union. “Domestic Violence and Homelessness.” Women’s Rights Project. Accessed March 1, 2014, https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/FilesPDFs/housing%20paper.4.pdf

Do Something.org. (UNK). Retrieved from: https://www.doorwaysva.org/our-work/education-advocacy/the-facts-about-domestic-violence/