Phoenix bilingual domestic violence shelter helps survivors keep their furry family members
While AR was in a relationship with her ex-husband, she felt she had no control. She could not imagine that their marriage in 2019 would begin a cycle of abuse.
​
“I was closed off from my friends,” AR shared with The Arizona Republic. “I couldn’t have contact with my family, with my mom. I was working before and he made me quit my job. He controlled the food that we ate. He managed my entire life.”
​
The Republic is using initials for the woman to safeguard her identity and that of her children.
​
The first time AR sought help from a domestic violence shelter in 2020, she found a temporary solution. A shelter — Emerge Center Against Domestic Abuse in Tucson — helped set her up with a house where she could reside with her five children.
In her mind, she was safe and even got two dogs — a Chihuahua named Bella and a German Shepherd and Husky mix named Oso.
But the abuse from her now ex-husband continued and only got worse when she asked for a divorce in 2022. He wouldn’t leave her alone, AR said.
“He was obsessed,” she said.
He would stake out her house early in the mornings, pound on the doors to the point of knocking them down and would threaten her, her children and her dogs' lives.
In February 2023 she knew she had to leave once again.
Her two dogs are like her children. She could not imagine leaving them behind — especially after her ex-husband had a pattern of violence.
According to research from the Animal Welfare Institute, 48% of domestic violence victims delay leaving a dangerous situation out of concern for their pet’s safety.
Desperately making calls and searching for resources to try to find a space for her and her family, she found Chicanos Por La Causa De Colores, a bilingual shelter in Phoenix which recently began allowing pets. The shelter provided a space where she could stay with both her pets and her five children, whose ages range from 9 to 21.
​
AR has been at the shelter for two months and says she now feels truly calm and protected.
​
“I now have to start from zero,” AR said. "I can’t say that I regret my decision or that I’m struggling because (the shelter) has supported me and is always on the lookout to make sure (my pets') needs are met.”
​
Chicanos Por La Causa De Colores, a place to 'heal together'
​
“The hallmarks of (domestic violence) are not violence, but rather coercion and control,” said Jenna Panas, chief executive officer for the AZ Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence. “A domestic violence relationship is one in which one party is seeking to essentially control the other party through coercion, violence, abuse, etc. And so one of the mechanisms that can be used to control someone is a pet.”
A 2022 report by the coalition showed that in 2022 there were a total of 101 known domestic violence-related fatalities across Arizona. Of those deaths, 69 were in Maricopa County.
The numbers are projected to stay consistent for 2023, Panas said.
According to Esperanza United, a national network that mobilizes Latino communities to end gender-based violence, about 1 in 3 Latinas experience some form of domestic violence, and often, due to language barriers and cultural expectations, they find it harder to seek help.
Chicanos Por La Causa De Colores was founded in 1986 to give Spanish-speaking domestic violence survivors a space to receive services in their language. Offering a variety of services — avoiding family separations, legal aid, and court preparation — with a completely bilingual staff, the shelter recently opened a space for residents to bring in their pets.
“Pets are a source of comfort and happiness, but pet safety is a barrier preventing people experiencing abuse to seek help,” shelter program manager Mayani Jinel said in a statement.
The CPLC De Colores program provides resources to an
average of 500 to 600 survivors of sexual and domestic abuse annually, according to the shelter. There are 88 beds in the shelter.
Jinel said she has seen an increase in the number of residents since they started accepting pets. She noted residents and their pets can “heal together” now that they can seek safety with their companion animals.
The shelter decided to begin accepting pets two years ago. At first, residents would need to carefully walk their pets outside, often fearing being seen, Jinel described.
Through Chicanos Por La Causa's partnership with Assured Engineering Concepts, a locally owned business that provides professional engineering design services, De Colores received enough support to open a pet park this year within the walls of the shelter. “Our efforts with the pet park aims to encourage survivors to take action without worrying about leaving their pet behind," Jinel said.
The shelter provides all of the necessities for pets ranging from food, toys and other pet essentials. So far, De Colores has seen mostly dogs, but they have had a share of cats, hamsters and fish.
​
“For a lot of people, pets are a part of their family,” Jinel said. “I see the impact of the shelter. I see how happy they are. I see how having their pets with them makes them feel secure."
CPLC De Colores, however, can only help so many people. With a limited amount of resources and space for survivors, AR notes that more needs to be done to help others in her situation.
​
"I wish there were more opportunities, more programs, more resources for them to help us; (the shelter) does what they can but sometimes there are obstacles," AR said. "There need to be more resources, not just for the De Colores shelter, but also for any program that supports people like us."