Coastal Women's Shelter's New Beginnings program is a safe space for survivors of domestic and sexual violence to build the skills and resilience needed to create and live futures free of violence. This program is in partnership with North Carolina Council for Women and Youth Involvement; United Way of Coastal Carolina; North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Victims of Crime Act.

Why We Do This
Our staff believes with a trauma-informed approach to education, awareness, and prevention is building a solid foundation of respect and dignity. Through our work, we aim to empower survivors of violence to build resiliency and protective factors against future abuse.

Using a socio-ecological framework that centers on survivors’ unique experiences and acknowledges the intersectionality of race, gender, class, and other identifiers that impact these experiences. Coastal Women’s Shelter provides workshops, forums, and other learning opportunities for both survivors of intimate partner violence and service providers that work with them to build protective factors that support increased self-efficacy, short-term safety, and long-term security.

Program Objectives
The main objective is to provide a safe space in which survivors can build skills, resiliency, and protective factors against future abuse. 

Program Focus Areas
New Beginnings programming offers resources and supports in the following areas to equip survivors with the tools they need to best take care of themselves, their families and build futures free of intimate partner violence.

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• Health and Wellness

  • Program offerings focused on improving physical, mental, and emotional health for survivors

• Parenting Skills

  • Learning and sharing opportunities designed to help survivor parents break the generational cycle of abuse for themselves and their children

• Employability

  • Resources and learning spaces designed to help survivors of domestic abuse secure employment become more gainfully employed, and explore entrepreneurial endeavors to better provide for themselves and their families to protect against vulnerabilities and economic dependence on abusive partners

• Education

  • Resources and funds to support survivors’ efforts to define and achieve their personal educational goals toward long-term security and fulfillment

• Financial Empowerment

  • Program offerings are designed to equip and empower survivors with the knowledge and skills needed to recover from the financial impact of abuse and work to build financial awareness, literacy, and security.

    • Matched Savings program

      • 3-6 month (or longer, depending on the individual) program that provides financial literacy education using, in part, the Allstate Purple Purse curriculum as well as matched savings funds (up to $500) for survivors that successfully complete the program

    • Flexible Funds program

      • Financial assistance for survivors to meet immediate and critical financial needs to help ensure short-term safety and support long-term security

 

Program Eligibility
New Beginnings participants are:

• Survivors of domestic or sexual violence/intimate partner abuse residing in Craven, Jones, or Pamlico counties who have experienced one or more of the following types of abuse in the previous two years:

  • Physical

  • Emotional

  • Mental

  • Financial

  • Sexual

• The primary source of income for their households

• Prepared to work hard and invest in themselves to realize a future free of abuse

For more information on the New Beginnings program call 252-638-4509 x5.