AWS constituents — including dedicated board, staff, volunteers, interns, relief workers, on-call language advocates, domestic violence survivors, and community members — are committed to the powerful vision of living in a violence-free and safe environment.

Our mission and long-term vision are rooted in an anti-oppression framework: the organization’s services and programs address the interplay of factors — including sexism, racism, ageism, classism, ableism, and heterosexism — that shape the everyday reality of survivors. In order to honor and maintain the integrity of our work with survivors, AWS is committed to upholding the values of direct communication, teamwork, and honesty, both programmatically and organizationally. AWS staff members are accountable to each other, to survivors, to community-based partners, and to the organization’s Board of Directors.

Each July, AWS staff work together to generate annual programmatic and individual work plans that prioritize objectives for special attention and growth. Staff agree on 2 priority areas for each primary program and 2 concrete outcomes for each priority area.