In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH) and local muralist Joel Bergner are unveiling a new mural in the Brookland neighborhood in Northeast DC. Located at 3740 12th Street, NE, the mural depicts the impact of domestic violence on a woman, and its effects on her son, extended family and community, as well as the hope and support victims can find after violence has occurred.
DASH was founded in 2006 in response to the overwhelming need for safe, secure housing for victims of domestic violence with multiple complex needs in the District of Columbia. DASH’s mission is to ensure access to safe and sustainable refuge for victims of domestic violence through the development and management of safe housing and related services. With their new safe housing program opening this fall, the number of safe housing units in the city available to survivors will triple, making DASH the largest safe housing provider in the District.
In 2008, Metropolitan Police received more than 31,000 domestic violence crime calls and the majority of these calls come from the poorest sections of the city. On any given night, there are 582 homeless victims of domestic violence in the city’s shelter system; women-headed households comprise 83% of all homeless families in the city’s homeless shelters (Washington Council of Governments’ Regional Point-in-Time for Homelessness 2008). However, for the last twenty-five years, there have been only 48 beds in emergency, confidential programs for victims in the city. Battered women in the District are often forced to choose between staying in a dangerous, potentially life threatening situation or becoming homeless.
“Family safety, homelessness, and persistent poverty threaten the well-being of thousands of women and their families in the District,” said Peg Hacskaylo, executive director of the District Alliance for Safe Housing. “Having this work of art in the community will send a positive message to members of the community, as well as individual victims, that safety and security can be found after the trauma of abuse.”
An internationally acclaimed muralist and resident of DC, Bergner’s work focuses on diversity, culture, and history. His focus on the DASH mural is to “show that this issue is universal across race, ethnicity and nationality.” In “looking toward a brighter future with the support of family, friends, a case worker, and joined by women of many backgrounds,” Bergner marries the universal histories of violence so many women have and continue to face with the celebration of support that DASH and other organizations strive to provide.
The unveiling and ceremony, featuring local artists including the Lost Bois, Juneskye, and Batala, an all-female drumming group, will be open to the public from 3-6 PM. Food and refreshments will be served, as well as performances by spoken word poets, survivors of domestic violence sharing their stories, and comments by DASH and Mr. Bergner.