Crisis Services
YWCA provides shelter and crisis services to children, men, women, and LGBTQ individuals of all ages, races, cultures, and economic backgrounds who are escaping interpersonal violence, stalking, and/or human trafficking in order empower victims and break the cycle of violence.
Crisis Services Offered by the YWCA
What is the YWCA Emergency Shelter?
For over forty years, the YWCA South Hampton Roads has operated our emergency shelter, providing the ONLY place of refuge for families escaping domestic and sexual violence in the City of Norfolk. As a result, finding a vacancy in the shelter can frequently prove to be an obstacle for families who are fleeing violence.
Committed to ensuring that no individual facing imminent danger will be turned away regardless of capacity, the YWCA purchased a larger shelter in July 2019. The new facility has enabled us to expand from 9 to 22 rooms, increased our shelter footprint from 3,000 to 9,500 square feet and more than doubled the capacity of clients that we are able to serve under one roof.
What can you expect while at our shelter?
- Confidentiality, safety, and safety planning
- Meals, clothing and personal hygiene necessities
- Individualized advocacy
- Counseling for adults and children
- Support Groups
- Empowerment to rebuild a safe, independent, and productive life
- Court Advocacy
- Resources for medical, substances abuse treatment, psychological care, employment, housing assistance, and continued education
Who is eligible for YWCA Shelter?
YWCA Emergency Shelter is for those who will fight the pervasive influence of homelessness, poverty, and abuse and are willing to make an empowered decision to rise and become a productive community member who understands that the decision to create a better life rests entirely on them.
Please call our 24/7 Crisis Hotline at 757.251.0144 for emergency shelter.
Trained on-call crisis counselors are available 24/7 to provide emotional support, safety planning, crisis intervention, information, and referrals to victims of interpersonal violence at area hospitals. On-call crisis counseling services are requested via the 24-Hour Crisis Response Hotline by medical providers, law enforcement, or victims.
Please call our 24/7 Crisis Hotline at 757.251.0144 for hospital accompaniment.
The YWCA offers free legal education, court accompaniment services, assistance with obtaining protective orders, and legal referrals to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. The YWCA has victim advocates based out of the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and the Norfolk Police Operations Center to assist those who are petitioning for protective orders. Our victim advocates also provide court accompaniment services to victims of interpersonal violence who reside in the South Hampton Roads region.
Please call our 24/7 Crisis Hotline at 757.251.0144 for victim advocacy.
The YWCA’s 24-Hour Crisis Hotline provides comprehensive, wrap-around crisis services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. Through this hotline, we offer the following wrap-around services to individuals escaping violence:
24-Hour Hotline
Trained Hotline Counselors are available 24/7 on our crisis hotline for individuals affected by violence.
Crisis Counseling
Services focus on providing crisis intervention and emotional support to callers in crisis, including safety planning, information, and referrals.
Emergency Shelter Placement
Emergency shelter is available for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and stalking.
24-Hour Victim Advocacy
A YWCA On-Call Crisis Counselor is available 24/7 to respond to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and stalking, and their family members/friends to provide support, information, and advocacy. Hospital, law enforcement, and magistrate/courts accompaniment for protective orders are also available.
The YWCA’s 24-Hour Hotline serves the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, South Hampton, and the Isle of Wight Counties.