Resource Tool
Shelter and Other Safe Space Info Packet
ID: Dark blue and light blue background with yellow and orange pattern in the middle. Photo of a campfire in front of mountains and dark blue sky in the foreground. Text above campfire image: Shelter and Other Safe Space Info Packet. White NIWRC logo in bottom corner.
This Shelter and Other Safe Space Information Packet is a collection of articles, booklets, sample policies and forms covering a range of topics about providing shelter and other emergency housing for survivors of battering/intimate partner violence. Housing is a basic human right that is especially critical for our relatives who are survivors of battering/ intimate partner violence. The housing shortage crisis in Indian Country is well-known and dramatically increases the danger survivors face in attempting to escape violence. According to the StrongHearts Native Helpline and NIWRC, there are fewer than 60 Tribal shelters within Indian Country and fewer than 150 tribal domestic violence programs.
As Tribal nations engage in the processes of de-colonizing and re-Indigenizing, provision of safe homes is crucial in the work to end violence against Native women, their children and other relatives. For a variety of reasons, some Tribal nations may not establish domestic violence shelters, but may collaborate with other area shelters and/or create networks of safe homes and utilize motels and hotels for emergency housing. This Information Packet is part of an initiative to support and guide those efforts to provide shelter in different forms for survivors. These materials can be helpful for advocates, educating Tribal officials, in-services, cross-trainings and public education events.
We hope you find the materials in this packet and all of our resources helpful in your advocacy to end violence against Native women and all of our relatives. Together we can create the change needed to reclaim our traditional life ways based upon spirituality, compassion, equity and respect. Please see the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center’s Resource Library, which offers a range of articles, booklets and other materials, including special collections and webinars with toolkits, on additional topics. If you have questions, suggestions, or possible additions to this Shelter & Other Safe Space Information Packet or the Resource Library, please contact us through our Contact Us page.
Related Resource:
NIWRC’s Advocacy Curriculum is also available for use by Tribal and Native domestic violence programs to provide basic training for new advocates. Sections of the Advocacy Curriculum can be adapted for use in other educational initiatives facilitated within your local community.
