Exploring the Experiences of Domestic Violence Survivors with Permanent Supportive Housing - Research Brief on Progress towards Self-Sufficiency - February 2015

Sep 12, 2026

Uploaded by Rowan

This research brief examines how residents of The Anderson, a Bronx, New York permanent supportive housing program for domestic violence survivors, progressed toward goals of housing stability, safety, and movement toward self-sufficiency. It synthesizes longitudinal qualitative interviews with survivors during their residence and presents self-assessments guided by a modified Arizona Self-Sufficiency Matrix. Participants generally maintained or improved across domains, with no widespread regression and average gains in income, credit history, education, and safety. Findings highlight how service-light, tenant-support coordination supports well-being and empowerment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

New Destiny’s Anderson Avenue Project

Research focus and goals

Methods

Participant interviews and coding

Modified Arizona Self-Sufficiency Matrix

Study Participant Progress

Overall domain changes

Table 1 domain findings

Exploring the Experiences of Domestic Violence Survivors with Permanent Supportive Housing Research Brief: Focus on Progress towards Self-Sufficiency February 2015 Andrea Hetling, PhD 1, Hilary Botein, PhD2, and Annelisa Steeber3 1 Co-Principal Investigator, Rutgers University – New Brunswick ([ahetling@rutgers.edu](ahetling@rutgers.edu)) 2 Co-Principal Investigator, Baruch College, CUNY ([hilary.botein@baruch.cuny.edu](hilary.botein@baruch.cuny.edu)) 3 Graduate Research Assistant, Rutgers University – New Brunswick New Destiny’s Anderson Avenue Project: This brief is part ofa series of reports from a qualitative research project examining the experiences of domestic violence survivors in permanent and affordable housing linked to supportive services. The Anderson, which opened in December 2012, is permanent supportive housing in the Bronx, New York that is developed and operated by New Destiny Housing. The building has 40 units, half of which are set aside for domestic violence survivors coming from emergency and transitional shelters. The Anderson is a “services light” model with limited voluntary services available at the site and an on-site, full-time tenant support coordinator. The model’s goals are to (1) maintain housing stability,(2) keep people safe and violence-free, and (3) support individual progress toward self-sufficiency. The research project followed residents of the building for almost two years to explore their progress in meeting these goals and the perceived role of The Anderson in supporting their journeys. The focus of this research brief is on resident progress towards these three goals during their residence at The Anderson. Specifically, we present women’s perceptions oftheir progress in areas including economic self-sufficiency, safety, and well-being. Methods: Thirteen domestic violence survivors at The Anderson agreed to be part of the research project. We interviewed twelve of the survivors four times over a period of about 18 months (at 0, 6, 12, and 18 months into the project) . One of the twelve residents was interviewed in Spanish. One additional resident joined the project late and was interviewed only during the last three rounds. Interviews focused on understanding survivors’ experiences with the program and outcome goals. The interview instrument was informed by other qualitative work done in the fields of housing and domestic violence, and refined to match the unique goals and circumstances of The Anderson. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded for themes using open-ended coding techniques. During the last interview, conducted in the fall of 2014, we used a modified version of the Arizona Self-Sufficiency Matrix to guide a discussion on individual progress. The Arizona SelfSufficiency Matrix is an assessment tool originally developed by U.S. localities to evaluate the capacity and needs of homeless people.1 The original Matrix uses 15 domains, or areas of evaluation, on a scale of 1 to 5. Each domain and scale level combination has a description. For example, building capacity in the income domain is characterized as,“Can meet basic needs and manage debt without assistance.” Data collection usually involves both the client and a case manager discussing together the client’s status. Data are collected periodically to show changes over time. Since it was first used, several similar assessment tools have been introduced and slightly different versions of the Matrix are available. For this study, the researchers chose 11 domains for evaluation (as listed in Table 1) and used the original scale: (1) in crisis (2) vulnerable, (3) safe,(4) building capacity, and (5) empowered. Residents were asked to place themselves on the scale for each domain. Thus, the assessments are based on self-reports. Although most uses of the Matrix include housing as a domain, we did not ask about housing because the study presumes that all residents have access to stable and

FAQs

What are the three core goals of The Anderson for domestic violence survivors?

The Anderson aims to maintain housing stability, keep residents safe and violence-free, and support individual progress toward self-sufficiency.

How was progress toward self-sufficiency measured in the study?

Interviews were analyzed thematically, and in the last interview residents discussed their progress using a modified version of the Arizona Self-Sufficiency Matrix across selected domains.

What overall trends did the study find in participants’ progress?

Participants generally maintained their status or improved, and none regressed in more than one domain area; average scores increased across all domains.

Sep 12, 2026

Uploaded by Rowan