House of Ruth
Encyclopedia
House of Ruth, founded in 1976, is a non-profit organization
that serves more than 600 women and children who are abuse
d and homeless in Washington, DC.
The mission of House of Ruth is to help women, children and families in greatest need and with very limited resources build safe, stable lives and achieve their highest potential.
At 13 locations in Washington, DC, House of Ruth serves women, children and families who are striving to overcome childhood trauma, domestic violence
, homelessness
, mental health disorders, and substance abuse
. House of Ruth provides nurturing, structured, safe housing and caring, consistent, individualized services in order to capitalize on the participants' strengths and meet their specific needs.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that serves more than 600 women and children who are abuse
Abuse
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise...
d and homeless in Washington, DC.
The mission of House of Ruth is to help women, children and families in greatest need and with very limited resources build safe, stable lives and achieve their highest potential.
At 13 locations in Washington, DC, House of Ruth serves women, children and families who are striving to overcome childhood trauma, domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
, homelessness
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
, mental health disorders, and substance abuse
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
. House of Ruth provides nurturing, structured, safe housing and caring, consistent, individualized services in order to capitalize on the participants' strengths and meet their specific needs.
Programs
House of Ruth concentrates their services on three program areas:- Housing and Services for Women, including service-enriched transitional and permanent housing at five locations for 109 women;
- Housing and Services for Families, including service-enriched housing at five locations for 63 families as well as supportive services for 11 families housed in apartments throughout the city; and
- Community-Based Services, including Kidspace, providing therapeutic child developmentChild developmentChild development stages describe theoretical milestones of child development. Many stage models of development have been proposed, used as working concepts and in some cases asserted as nativist theories....
to 76 children up to five years old who are homeless or at risk and supportive services for their parents, and the Domestic Violence Support Center, a counseling center to address domestic violence, serving roughly 200 women at any given time and more than 400 over the course of the year.