Last quarter service trends: Shelter bed nights, support line contacts up in first quarter of Haven’s fiscal year
Shelter bed nights were up 106 percent in the first quarter of our fiscal year compared to the previous quarter, our internal service numbers show.
Source: Haven internal service numbers.
The increase in shelter bed nights – the number of safe nights in the shelter for survivors and their children – is a result not only of our increased capacity to shelter survivors at The Barnard Center, but also the result of Bozeman’s recent population growth and related housing crisis. (Read more on this here.)
Also up significantly were contacts to the support line.
Source: Haven internal service numbers.
Two things we want to note about these increases:
Many of the texts/chats were from current shelter residents to our advocates, asking questions about shelter logistics and services. Texts/chats are now an additional way we’ve created for residents to access Haven’s services, and those hours were expanded earlier this year to 7 days/week, 8 am to 8 pm.
Even if we don’t factor in the calls from current shelter residents, calls to our 24-hour support line were up 39 percent last quarter from the quarter before.
Source: Haven internal service numbers.
Big thanks to this community and to our partners for continuing to invest in supporting survivors of domestic abuse, sex trafficking, stalking, and sexual assault here in Gallatin Valley.