Groundbreaking Shelter-Availability Platform Expands Nationwide Amid Federal Funding Uncertainty

As the prospect of significant federal grant cuts looms over domestic violence services providers, ReloShare, a Chicago-based technology company, has announced it will provide 12 months of free access to its national shelter-sharing network, The Grove, for every domestic violence, sexual assault, and human-trafficking shelter program in the country. This no-cost initiative aims to remove financial barriers to access and provide critical support to survivors during a pivotal moment.

Key Takeaways:

• ReloShare's The Grove platform will provide 12 months of free access to its national shelter-sharing network for every domestic violence, sexual assault, and human-trafficking shelter program in the country.
• The Grove will offer a real-time inventory of beds in shelters, transitional housing, and overflow hotels, as well as de-identified referrals that protect program locations and survivor identities.
• The platform's search functionality will collapse a multi-day phone marathon into minutes, allowing service providers to find available shelter space in under 10 minutes.
• Since the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline adopted The Grove statewide last September, available shelter space has been found in under 10 minutes, saving staff hours that can be used to support survivors.
• The Grove generates a live, national picture of bed availability, revealing where and when shortages are most acute, and providing analytics to help coalitions, funders, and policymakers target resources faster and more accurately.
• The platform partnership with the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) will help coordinate logistics and ease the process of finding available beds in real-time.

Statistics:

• 14,095 unmet requests in a single day, with 60% being for emergency shelter or housing (NNEDV survey).
• Calls to the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline increased by 40% due to the scarcity of safe housing ( Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline)[1].
• 12 months of free access to The Grove for 100% of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human-trafficking shelter programs in the country (ReloShare announcement).
• 2 decades of documenting emergency housing as the number-one unmet need for survivors in the NNEDV's Domestic Violence Counts report (NNEDV).

Sources:

• ReloShare announcement (no date provided)
• National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV)
• The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence
• Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline