Getting help, one service at a time.
Each of the eight things we do, in two sentences: who it is for and how to reach it. Every one starts with a call to the helpline, (555) 010-2400, at any hour — or the National Hotline, 1-800-799-7233.
What happens, in four steps
At any hour. You do not have to give your name, and the call is not recorded.
A place tonight, a question, a plan, or only to talk. The advocate does not decide for you.
A bed in the shelter, a hotel room paid by us, a court date, a group — whichever it is.
Directions are given once, by phone, and the advocate stays with you until you are there.
Each one, in two sentences
24-hour helpline
An advocate answers, day or night, and you decide what to say. You do not have to give a name, and you do not have to be ready to leave to call.
Who it is for: Anyone — for yourself, or for someone you are worried about
How to reach it: Call (555) 010-2400, any hour. Or the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233.
Emergency shelter
Twenty-four beds in a house whose address is not on this website or anywhere else public. A room, meals, a locked door, and an advocate on every shift.
Who it is for: Adults and their children who are not safe at home
How to reach it: Through the helpline. The advocate arranges the place and gives directions to you, once, by phone.
Safety planning
A plan for the next bad night, made with an advocate: where to go, what to keep ready, who knows the word that means come now. It is yours and it is written nowhere online.
Who it is for: Anyone, whether or not you are leaving
How to reach it: Through the helpline, or in person by appointment.
Legal advocacy
An advocate helps you prepare the Family Abuse Prevention Act petition, explains what the court process looks like, and goes with you. Advocates are not lawyers and do not give legal advice.
Who it is for: Anyone thinking about a protective order or facing court
How to reach it: Through the helpline; the legal advocate calls back the same business day.
Support groups
Six weekly groups, one in Spanish. Nobody has to speak. Where a group meets is never on this website.
Who it is for: Adults, whatever stage you are at
How to reach it: Through the helpline; the group facilitator tells you where.
Children's program
A room in the shelter that is only for children, a coordinator who keeps school going, and time for parents that is only theirs. No child is ever photographed or named by this organization.
Who it is for: Children staying in the shelter, and their parents
How to reach it: Part of a shelter stay; ask the shelter advocate.
Housing assistance
A deposit and the first month's rent, paid to the landlord, and an advocate who talks to landlords with you. Last year that was forty-one households.
Who it is for: People leaving the shelter, or leaving home without needing the shelter
How to reach it: Through the helpline or the housing advocate.
Advocates who speak Spanish
Two staff advocates and one group facilitator speak Spanish. Interpretation is never done by a family member or a child.
Who it is for: Anyone who would rather talk in Spanish
How to reach it: Say "español" on the helpline; a Spanish-speaking advocate calls back within the hour, any day.
A short checklist, to do with an advocate or alone
The Hotline describes a safety plan as a personal, practical plan to improve your safety while you are experiencing abuse, preparing to leave, or after you have left. This is the short version Ashgrove Haven advocates start from; the full one is made by phone and never written on a website.
- A person who knows the word or the text that means “come now” or “call the police”.
- A place you could go tonight, and a second one.
- Copies of the documents you would need — identification, cards, the children’s records — kept somewhere else.
- A bag with a few days of clothes and any medication, kept somewhere else.
- Some money that is only yours, even a little.
- The helpline number written somewhere it will not be found, or memorised.
- A plan for the children: who picks them up, what the school knows.
- If you use a shared phone or computer: what is watched, and a safer one to use.
Source and the full planning tool: the National Domestic Violence Hotline, Plan for safety. Nothing here is advice about your situation; an advocate helps you make your own plan.
Where it is, and why that is not written here
The shelter is a house with twenty-four beds, a kitchen, a children’s room and an advocate on every shift. Its address is not on this website, on any map listing, or in any document we publish — an address on a website is an address in a search result, and the person you are leaving can search too.
When you call, the advocate arranges the place, and gives directions to you, once, by phone. If the shelter is full, the advocate finds a bed in a neighbouring county’s program or a hotel room for the night, paid by us, and stays on the phone until you are there.
Staying is free. You can bring your children. Pets: ask; the advocate has arrangements for most of them.
What the legal advocate does, and does not do
In Oregon the court order most people mean is the Family Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA) restraining order. The forms, who can ask for one and where to file are on the Oregon Judicial Department’s page, Family Abuse Prevention Act restraining orders.
Our legal advocate helps you fill in the petition, explains what the hearing looks like, and sits with you at the courthouse. Advocates are not lawyers: they do not say whether you qualify or what the court will decide, and this website does not either. For legal advice the advocate gives you the number of the legal aid office.
Ashgrove Haven · domestic-violence services for one county in the Willamette Valley, Oregon · EIN 00-0000011 · [email protected]
The shelter’s address is never published, on purpose. Office visits by appointment through the helpline.
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