The work of CORA

The programs are funded by a mix of public and private grants, as well as individual donations. One can make a direct donation and sign up for the SafeNight app (safenightapp.org) where you’ll get a notification when safe houses are full. One can make an immediate donation to provide a hotel room for the night.

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According to Director of Development Lynn Engel and Marketing Officer Daniel Halloway, “we’ve seen a yearly increase in those reaching out for help for the last five years. While a single social event or movement — like #MeToo or the domestic violence events in the NFL — doesn’t single-handedly cause an uptick, they contribute to the steadily increasing public dialogue and awareness about intimate partner abuse. Taking this issue out of the shadows and talking about it increases the chances someone will reach out for help. With national statistics saying one in four women and one in seven men will experience intimate partner abuse in their lifetime, we know there is a huge portion of the population experiencing it. Awareness makes it easier for people to reach out.”

Crisis counselors receive a minimum of 40 hours of domestic violence training certified by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and are fluent in Spanish and English.

CORA’s Emergency Response Program partners with all San Mateo County law enforcement agencies. The goals of ERP are to provide immediate, telephone-based crisis counseling to abuse survivors at the scene of 911 abuse calls and to connect survivors with CORA’s supportive services, including emergency housing, legal services and counseling. This service is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The ERP program benefits both those affected by abuse and local law enforcement. With CORA’s trained crisis counselor attending to the needs of the survivor, the officer can focus on the legal aspects of the call. In cases when immediate crisis intervention is not needed or appropriate, the police summary is sent to CORA via a secure web-based system, and an ERP crisis counselor attempts to contact each survivor within 48 hours.

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The organization also attends to the trauma that victims suffer. Advocates work with survivors to create a plan for self-reliance and empowerment away from the safe house and to restore a sense of safety and connectedness. CORA’s Supportive Housing program provides transitional and permanent housing for one to three years for individuals and families affected by domestic violence. The transitional housing program provides survivors and their children with up to one year of housing at no cost. In lieu of rent, clients commit to saving a portion of their income for use after leaving the program, to build their self-sufficiency.

The Permanent Housing program provides survivors and their children with up to three years of subsidized housing, with the subsidy decreasing slightly every year to foster self-sufficiency. Permanent Housing clients pay part of their rent. After three years, they have the opportunity to continue living at their place, with the lease in their name. This program is made possible by the partnerships CORA’s family advocates have created with local landlords who are amenable to renting their properties to CORA clients.

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I knew San Mateo County was a leader in providing a safety net for victims of domestic violence but never realized the extent of services CORA provides. Go to corasupport.org for more information.

Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs every Monday. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.