Prevail Expands Housing Support for Survivors with $120,000 Grant

Prevail Inc. assists survivors of crime and abuse of all ages, providing advocacy, support, housing and prevention services that include one-on-one appointments with staff, courtroom support, resources for healing and more. And Prevail is increasingly busy: The number of domestic violence calls nearly doubled in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the same period the year before.

Of all the services Prevail provides, a safe place to live may be one of the most vital. Last year, Prevail served 3,168 individuals with its programs and services. Prevail Executive Director Tami Wanninger said her agency saw about an 8 percent increase in the need for housing support, “which we will continue as our communities within Hamilton County continue to grow.”

With a three-year, $120,000 grant awarded in May by Hamilton County Community Foundation (HCCF), Wanninger “aims to expand housing options and resources by providing ongoing housing case management services, flexible funding, and capacity-building support to create pathways to transitional housing for survivors in Hamilton County.”

“We want to provide housing options for our survivors, wherever they are in their healing journey,” Wanninger said. “HCCF is providing that opportunity by investing in Prevail. They’re really investing in survivors in our county. We believe that community strengthens survivors; we think that’s what HCCF is doing for Prevail and survivors.”

The HCCF grant is $40,000 a year for three years. Of that, $20,000 will go toward housing case management support. Wanninger said that over the last three years, Prevail has supported over 2,500 survivors with housing through its case management program.

Another $5,000 a year will go into its flexible funding program, which helps survivors obtain or maintain safe housing. While Prevail typically receives grants to address financial barriers experienced by clients, such as paying for rent, utilities, car repairs, and more, those grants can have restrictions that limit what the funds can be used for or cap the amount available for an individual. “This funding from HCCF has the flexibility to allow us to use it on any of those items, and we won’t have that restriction,” Wanninger said.

The remaining $15,000 will be focused on capacity building, specifically to conduct a feasibility study to explore the development of a transitional housing program. Wanninger said transitional housing – being able to place domestic violence and sexual assault victims in safe housing for six to 24 months – would enable Prevail to provide the resources survivors need on their healing journey.

“We can really wrap our arms around an individual and work with them on a holistic approach and get them stabilized,” she said. “Nationally, about 78 percent of survivors will

be successful long term if they have been in a transitional housing program prior to going out on their own into permanent housing. With HCCF’s support, we will be able to create a thoughtful, state-of-the-art, best practice model that we have dreamt about for survivors.”

Wanninger said survivors often come to Prevail needing assistance to flee abusive situations, but with limited or no resources. “We want them to have options if leaving the abusive relationship is their goal,” she said, and having access to more rental units in safe locations is vital.

In announcing the grant for Prevail, HCCF President Danielle Stiles-Polk said Prevail “exemplifies the kind of bold, community-rooted work our new strategic plan is designed to support. By investing in this unrestricted grant funding over the next three years, we are helping to build long-term sustainability and deepen the organization’s impact across Hamilton County.”

Reflecting on the grant request, Wanninger shared that “we were really looking at this opportunity to expand housing opportunities at all levels for survivors of crime and abuse.”

“We are so grateful for this opportunity from HCCF for this multi-year partner grant. This is going to enable Prevail to really impact the lives of survivors, to really help survivors thrive.”