Mobility in Shelter: Perspectives from Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence and Advocates

Overview: This poster describes themes surrounding accessing transportation resources in intimate partner shelters according to the experiences of advocates and shelter residents. This presentation will highlight mobility needs and barriers accessing transportation for survivors as well as providers perspectives on the types of resources available to shelter residents.Proposal text:

Background: Inadequate access to transportation presents a significant barrier for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Women experiencing IPV are more likely to turn to IPV shelters for assistance. Bergstrom-Lynch (2018) found that the majority of shelter residents lacked personal transportation and relied on transportation provided by shelter volunteers. Without adequate transportation survivors may experience limited social participation and economic opportunities. Little research has examined existing transportation services as well as survivors’ mobility and access to transportation while in shelter. Understanding the mobility challenges survivors face could reveal important insights for the development of accessible transportation. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into available transportation resources in shelter and survivors’ needs regarding transportation.

Methodology: A descriptive phenomenology was used to collect data from 10 survivors and 20 service providers working in shelters. Participants were at least 18 years of age, able to provide verbal or written consent, spoke English, and resided in a shelter or had worked with shelter with survivors for at least six months. A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct one-on-one interviews with participants that lasted approximately one hour. Interviews were audio-recorded and professionally transcribed. Data were the analyzed using thematic analysis in Atlas.ti (v. 8.4.4) to reveal themes related to survivors’ mobility, access, barriers, and needs regarding transportation.

Results: Thirty participants were recruited to participate in this study. Provider participants were primarily shelter-based case. Participants had an average age of 28 years old and were racially diverse. Thematic analysis of the participant interviews revealed three themes. The first theme that emerged was related to available transportation resources. Many of the shelters had vans which could transport survivors to certain locations, however there were prohibitive rules associated with transportation. Several participants discussed that transportation resources were not available on the weekends or after traditional work hours. Secondly, participants discussed survivors’ transportation needs. Participants said that residents rely on the shelter to provide them transportation. Public transportation was limited due to the potential safety risk. Participants commented that limited transportation at the shelter prevented them from traveling to desired places leading them to feeling “stir-crazy” or trapped. Finally, participants discussed barriers regarding transportation. Most participants agreed that shelter residents who own personal vehicles are more likely to achieve self-sufficiency quickly. Participants who did not own a vehicle struggled to access resources they need to be successful. Participants cited financial challenges and rurality as the main barriers to their mobility.

Conclusion: Survivors residing in shelter are limited in their mobility. This can lead to challenges obtaining economic self-sufficiency and increase isolation while at the shelter. Shelter personnel are able to meet some of the needs of the clients with the resources provided at the shelter. Advocacy for more available public transit or ride-hail programing is necessary to fill in the gaps and increase the mobility of survivors in shelter. It is important that social work educators address with students the impact of transportation access has on survivors’ ability to reach their goals and achieve self-sufficiency.