Everyone deserves to live their lives free of fear and violence, especially in their own homes.

Domestic violence is a public health issue that has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Stay-at-home orders and pandemic restrictions added another layer of distress to the trauma experienced by victims and survivors.

Victims are being confined with their abusers, sustaining abuse until it becomes intolerable. Throughout the pandemic, calls to The Umbrella Center for Domestic Violence Services and the HOPE Family Justice Center have been steady. We’ve received pleas from the shower, public bathrooms and basements because victims are desperate to grab a minute to call for help.

We’ve seen an increase for basic needs, such as housing, food, baby items and relocation costs. Food insecurity, financial instability and the threat of homelessness is on the rise among our clients. Across the state, there has been an increase in domestic violence-related shootings, stalkings, strangulations and hospitalizations with severe injuries.

Thanks to donors like you, we have been able to ensure that people who experience abuse can continue to obtain access to support, refuge and medical care during this public health disaster. 

Now more than ever, we’re so grateful for you and our community of donors and supporters. As we take care of each other, your support will turn the possibility of safety into reality.

The Umbrella Center for Domestic Violence Services (UCDVS) is dedicated to increasing awareness of domestic violence and its effect on the community, empowering those victimized by providing advocacy and safe and effective services, and to working for social change to eliminate domestic violence.

The program’s purpose is two-fold: to provide practical assistance and support for victims of domestic violence, and seek to create an environment that supports individual safety and breaks the cycle of violence.

The UCDVS Crisis Hotline numbers are (203) 736-9944 and (203) 789-8104. Toll-free 1-888-774-2900.

UCDVS offers 24-hour services for crisis hotline counseling, advocacy and information about crime victim compensation, filing of temporary restraining orders, referral, and safety planning. In addition, UCDVS accommodates crisis walk-ins, as well as immediate appointments and sheltering on a crisis basis.

UCDVS provides services for victims and their children at two sites located in Ansonia and New Haven. All services offered are free of charge and confidential. Services support 170 different languages 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

UCDVS provides services for residents of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Branford, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, West Haven, and Woodbridge.

The Hope Family Justice Center 

The Hope Family Justice Center of Greater New Haven consists of a multi-disciplinary team of professionals who work together, under one roof, to provide free wraparound services and care to victims, survivors and thrivers of domestic violence.

By providing support and healing, access to services and pathways to empowerment, the Hope Center is dedicated to replacing violence with safety, despair with optimism, uncertainty with hope.

Se habla Español.
(203) 800-7204