AWS is a survivor-centered organization that works toward an extended family model: our shelter offers and coordinates a network of services that meets the holistic needs of survivors of violence. Domestic violence occurs when women are living in social isolation. We tell them: “You are not alone.” We reach out to them, acknowledging that the survivor situation is intimately tied to family, society, culture, and economic situation.

In order to effectively support our residents and address larger, systemic issues of violence, we believe it is vital to work in a non-oppressive, collaborative context.  Therefore, to reflect the anti-oppression work we engage in, AWS maintains a consensus decision-making and non-hierarchical organizational structure, sound fiscal/personnel/administrative management, and frequent strategic planning, fund development, program evaluation, and technology initiatives. Our collaborative efforts help us to create a stronger voice to do advocacy, campaign, and policy work.

We also believe in collaborating with other domestic violence groups, including queer- and transgender-based organizations. We want to end the isolation of a survivor to best support her, to give her more options, and to foster the opportunities she might gain from interaction with many agencies, not just ours. We recognize that one agency cannot do it alone, so we work to build a network of services beyond AWS.