Advocates across the country have worked for decades to bring visibility to domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking; issues that remain persistent despite shifts in other types of violent crime.
For 50 years, Providence-based Sojourner House has worked on the front lines of that quiet crisis in Rhode Island, supporting survivors and confronting a form of violence that too often remains hidden behind closed doors. The organization provides shelter, legal services, counseling, and housing support to survivors and their families. While awareness and laws have improved over time, advocates say the progress hasn’t been enough.
As president and CEO of Sojourner House, Vanessa Volz has spent years grappling with those realities firsthand. So what would it actually take to make a meaningful dent in domestic violence in Rhode Island? Are current approaches sufficient — and if not, what’s standing in the way?
Volz spoke with Ocean State Media political reporter Ian Donnis about how she entered this line of work, how Sojourner House has expanded over the last decade and a half, and why domestic violence remains so prevalent in Rhode Island.
Interview highlights
On how Sojourner House has changed since she became CEO in 2011
Volz: Unfortunately, I think the issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking are as prevalent as ever. However, in terms of the support that Sojourner House is able to offer to the community, it has grown exponentially since I started working there 15 years ago.
When I first became the director, we had a small shelter program and a drop-in center. Over the last decade and a half, we’ve really expanded our supportive services. We now have a counseling program with licensed counselors, a legal program with an attorney and paralegal, and a presence in Woonsocket as well as Providence.
Most significantly, we’ve expanded the residential support we provide to survivors and their families. We initially really just had shelter as an option; we now have built out a continuum of residential services, which includes transitional housing, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing.
On why domestic violence arrest numbers have remained steady in Rhode Island
Volz: The domestic violence movement really started to gain visibility in the 1970s. (Today,) More people are aware of domestic violence and sexual assault as issues. More people are aware that it’s not behavior that should be accepted, and so, therefore, more people feel compelled to report it.
(At the same time), we estimate that probably greater numbers happen that are not reported. So if we’re talking about 5,000 arrests, 5,000 incidents, the total number of incidents, the total number of people affected by these issues directly is much greater than that.
On what would make the biggest difference in reducing domestic violence
Volz: We do have better laws in place, but from a practical standpoint, when we look at the resources that are allocated to provide support to victims, they’re really minuscule compared to the demand.
We have increased our size and scope significantly. We have more staff members, we have more housing options, and at the same time, we’re only able to serve a small percentage of people who reach out to us for help.
And last year’s a great example… of the hotline calls that we received, we were only able to assist 11% of people seeking emergency shelter in the entire year. It’s because of resources.
We don’t have enough resources to really provide the support that victims and survivors need.
