Sanctuary from Oppression

This book describes the results of research
conducted in a domestic violence shelter in New York
City. The effectiveness of Sanctuary, a milieu
therapy model that integrates trauma recovery and
social justice empowerment, was the primary focus of
the study. The broader aim was to describe the
strengths, needs, resiliency, and impact of
interpersonal trauma on the women who resided in the
shelter. All who participated were very
enthusiastic. These women who had been silenced
by abusive partners, marginalized by a social
service system that did not adequately meet their
needs, and rendered invisible by a society that did
not fully understand their plight, wanted their
voices heard and their stories understood. They were
all women of color, negotiating racism, poverty, and
violence in their homes and communities. They sought
safety, respite, and nonviolence. Since unconscious
systemic racism is form of social violence, it is
vital that it not be replicated in the shelter.
Therefore, the residents' experiences of racism and
the meaning of racial identity in their lives is
included, and efforts to work from an antiracist
framework are described.

Autorentext
Lisa V. Blitz, PhD, LCSW, is a social worker with more than 20 years experience working in urban settings. Her commitment to social justice centers on efforts to incorporate antiracist and anti-oppression analyses that inform and transform clinical, administrative, and academic aspects of social work practice.

Klappentext
This book describes the results of research conducted in a domestic violence shelter in New York City. The effectiveness of Sanctuary, a milieu therapy model that integrates trauma recovery and social justice empowerment, was the primary focus of the study. The broader aim was to describe the strengths, needs, resiliency, and impact of interpersonal trauma on the women who resided in the shelter. All who participated were very enthusiastic. These women who had been silenced by abusive partners, marginalized by a social service system that did not adequately meet their needs, and rendered invisible by a society that did not fully understand their plight, wanted their voices heard and their stories understood. They were all women of color, negotiating racism, poverty, and violence in their homes and communities. They sought safety, respite, and nonviolence. Since unconscious systemic racism is form of social violence, it is vital that it not be replicated in the shelter. Therefore, the residents' experiences of racism and the meaning of racial identity in their lives is included, and efforts to work from an antiracist framework are described.