Sensory Room for Survivors of Domestic Violence

The mission of WomenSafe is to provide emergency shelter and support services to survivors of domestic violence throughout Northeast Ohio. In 1980, WomenSafe first provided emergency shelter to abused women and their children with the help of volunteers who provided shelter in their own homes. In November of that year, the agency opened its own shelter using a rent-free apartment attached to the Geauga County Sheriff’s Department. Due to lack of space and expansion of services, the agency relocated it shelter twice before opening, “the Green House” in 2007. The Green House is a disclosed shelter that houses all administrative personnel, shelter staff, the emergency shelter, and all outreach services.

 

WomenSafe is looking to expand services by implementing a sensory room for survivors residing in the emergency shelter. As domestic violence is indiscriminate in nature, WomenSafe has seen the need for a sensory room through their own clients and wants to ensure the needs of survivors with sensory processing disorders are met. 

The agency expects that the sensory room will immediately de-escalate the survivor and help them recover in a healthy manner. In addition, WomenSafe expects that the sensory room will help promote empowerment, create a safe place, and allow survivors to have mental and physical relaxation. Long-term, WomenSafe expects that the sensory room will help survivors improve coordination, develop self-care consistency, and increase calmness, skill development, concentration, and attention.

1. As the sensory room will be a vacant room within the shelter, the agency would first need to move all the items out of the vacant room.

 

2. Implement construction steps, including painting, purchasing and installing light elements, and adding security features.

 

3. After implementing construction steps, the agency would purchase the sensory materials and items and put them in the sensory room.

 

4. The sensory room would be open for all residents to use while in the emergency shelter!

Leaving abusive relationships and coming into a communal living environment is a difficult transition for many survivors of domestic violence. However, the transition is more overwhelming when survivors enter the shelter with sensory processing disorders. The colors on the walls, the textures of items throughout the shelter, the smell of certain foods, and the sounds of the other residents are a few situations that can cause sensory overload for the survivor.

 

Over the last year, WomenSafe has seen an increase in survivors who enter the shelter with sensory processing disorders. Currently, WomenSafe assists these survivors by linking them to available resources and providing therapeutic materials and tools that assist in de-escalating the survivor during sensory overload. However, WomenSafe has not been able to fully meet the survivors’ sensory needs by providing a “calming room” that encourages healthy coping mechanisms while improving daily functions and providing independence and self-care.