Sanctuary’s Fiscal Year 2024, in Review
Thanks to your generous support, we provided life-saving services to 8,500 survivors of gender-based violence.
Here are some highlights of what we achieved together over the past fiscal year:
We partnered with Cornell Tech to launch the nation’s first clinic addressing technology-facilitated abuse.
Technology-facilitated abuse, including non-consensual pornography and smart device stalking, is a growing form of intimate partner violence, yet few services exist to address it. Sanctuary, in partnership with Cornell Tech’s Clinic to End Tech Abuse (CETA), is launching the Sanctuary Tech Abuse Clinic (STAC), the nation’s first clinic dedicated to helping survivors of tech-facilitated abuse. This initiative combines CETA’s expertise with Sanctuary’s 40 years of experience to provide trauma-informed technical screenings and consultations for survivors facing stalking, harassment, or exploitation through technology. The clinic aims to protect survivors, promote systemic change, and encourage other service providers to adopt this model.
Our Economic Empowerment Programs boosted English literacy to help survivors build confidence and career prospects.
This year, Sanctuary’s Economic Empowerment Programs (EEP) enhanced its Literacy Program, using pre- and post-program surveys to assess participants’ language skills, confidence, and goals. In the Fall 2023 cohort, 71% felt more confident in English, 87% felt more hopeful, and 100% felt less alone. Sanctuary also provides support to help participants overcome challenges like childcare and scheduling conflicts as they progress through the program.
To provide even more legal support to Orthodox Jewish domestic violence survivors, we added additional legal staff to the Initiative.
Sanctuary has expanded its Orthodox Jewish Matrimonial Initiative (OJMI) by adding a second full-time attorney. Launched in 2015, OJMI provides culturally sensitive legal support to Orthodox Jewish domestic violence survivors, covering civil and religious divorces, family law matters, and case management. This expansion will enable us to serve more clients with legal advice, pro se assistance, and full representation.
Our Incarcerated Gender Violence Survivors Initiative achieved record client parole success through early collaboration with pro bono attorneys.
Since 2017, Sanctuary’s Incarcerated Gender Violence Survivors Initiative (IGVSI) team has partnered with pro bono attorneys to build strong re-sentencing cases under the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA). In the past year, the IGVSI team has continued to achieve remarkable success in preparing clients for their parole board hearings, with over 90% of clients being granted parole—far above the statewide average of less than 40%. This success is due in part to early collaboration with pro bono firms, who help draft case summaries and secure support letters from the client’s family, friends, and corrections officers.
We expanded our Gender-Based Asylum Initiative to provide trauma-informed legal assistance to even more clients.
Sanctuary expanded its Gender-Based Asylum Initiative (GBAI), enhancing its ability to deliver high-volume, trauma-informed legal assistance and representation to even more survivors of gender-based violence seeking U.S. asylum. This fiscal past year, the initiative reached 112 clients, with no clients being denied representation due to capacity limitations. The GBAI team filed 94 asylum applications, with six individual hearings held, and all six cases resulted in granted asylum.
We launched the Narkis Golan Initiative to address international child abduction cases and advocate for systemic change in domestic violence law.
Sanctuary secured one of only 15 federal innovation grants to develop the Narkis Golan Initiative, aimed at addressing a critical gap in domestic violence law by providing legal training and support for cases involving international child abduction. Leveraging Sanctuary’s expertise, the Initiative seeks to empower survivors and advocate for systemic change within the Hague Convention framework, honoring the memory of Narkis Golan, a Sanctuary client who passed away in October 2022 while fighting to prevent her young son from being sent back to Italy with his abusive father.
Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we raised over $2.6 million at our Zero Tolerance Benefit.
This year marks a significant milestone — 40 years of providing critical support and services to survivors of gender-based violence. Over the past four decades, we’ve helped countless individuals rebuild their lives, offering safe shelter, legal services, counseling, and economic empowerment programs. Our 2024 Zero Tolerance Benefit was a testament to the continued strength of our community, raising over $2.6 million. The funds raised each year allow us to expand our services and continue advocating for survivors, ensuring that we can meet the growing demand for support and continue our mission for years to come.