Second Step, Inc.

The Second Step provides comprehensive services for those experiencing domestic violence. Our goal is to ensure survivors of domestic violence have the resources and support they need to escape abuse, remain safe from violence, gain independence, and improve their well-being.

Our programs and services are designed with the 5 domains of well-being in mind: 1) decrease social isolation and exclusion; 2) increase and maintain safety; 3) increase and maintain housing, financial, and emotional stability; 4) increase empowerment and autonomy; 5) connect to meaningful mainstream resources. We partner with survivors to address the trauma of abuse and build brighter futures for themselves and their children.

Last year, we served over 400 adults, helping break the cycle of abuse for over 600 children. While domestic violence impacts all communities, approximately 90% of our clients are women, 72% are considered low income, and 58% are people of color. Several staff and board members are domestic violence survivors, and a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds are represented.

Our wraparound services ensure holistic support so survivors can remove obstacles to independence. All our services are provided for free.

Our wraparound services ensure holistic support so survivors can remove obstacles to independence and improve their well-being. For example, our advocates and lawyers collaborate to support clients in court –attorneys provide zealous representation, while advocates offer emotional support. We provide safety planning to decrease the real threat of increased violence when ending an abusive relationship. We provide transitional living, work on budgeting, fixing credit, housing search, accessing resources and more. On average clients stay in shelter for 8-9 months, then transition to permanent housing, with 100% of clients remaining permanently housed one year later. Community advocates continue providing support through the transition to independence and may work with our staff attorneys for family law, restraining orders, or other legal needs.

Recently, we have had more clients with limited English proficiency which can create a barrier to victims seeking and receiving help. To meet this need, we invested in translation and interpretation services, have increased our multilingual materials, and are adding accessibility software to our website. We offer language proficiency pay to attract and retain bilingual/multilingual staff. When survivors communicate with service providers in their native language, it is easier to express their needs and goals, understand their rights, and access the life-saving options and resources available to them.

The Second Step is committed as an organization to ensuring that services are effective and lead to the outcomes that are most important to our client’s long-term well-being. Through client feedback surveys, service tracking, and measuring key performance indicators, we approach our continued efforts from a perspective of ongoing growth. Our measurement tools allow us to gain a better understanding of several key factors in long-term stability, including increased feelings of safety; increased feelings of empowerment and autonomy; and increased housing, financial, and emotional stability.

The Second Step is powered by a team of highly skilled professionals who imbue challenging work with humanity, kindness, and compassion. At our core, we are people serving people and our people are especially qualified to meet survivors’ unique safety and trauma-related needs. Among our staff are a number of survivors and those who have lived experiences of domestic violence, housing and economic instability, and trauma. We have staff who are immigrants, those for whom English is a second language, and many fluent in a language other than English. Many have advanced degrees in law, social work, criminal justice, psychology, and program development; all staff participate in continuing education and professional development opportunities to remain current on best practices and hone skills.

Our Executive Director has worked in the DV field for 15 years with extensive experience as an attorney providing direct services to clients, and a background in nonprofit administration. The Assistant Executive Director has broad experience working in the field with adult and youth survivors, especially in the housing field. She is also a seasoned contract manager with deep data analytic and program development and assessment skills.

We benefit from and contribute to: Jane Doe Inc., MA Coalition Against Domestic Violence, city and town domestic violence roundtables, the Newton Wellesley Hospital Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault council, the Family Law Domestic Violence Policy Group, that collaborates on issues of policy and best practices in family court. Annually, our attorneys teach classes at local law schools and universities.

We are undergirded by a diversified and robust range of funding sources, including state, federal, and local grants and contracts, as well as a healthy portfolio of corporate and foundation partners. As has been the case from the beginning, some of our biggest supporters are individuals within the community, providing everything from unrestricted funds to countless volunteer hours in support of the families we serve. Approximately 50% of our budget comes from contract funding, while the other 50% comes from private revenue (individuals, corporations and foundations).

Taken as a whole, it is this hardworking and dynamic community that allows us to do what we do.