This press release describes a settlement between a survivor of domestic violence and the St. Louis Housing Authority. An ex-boyfriend and father stalked, harassed, and threatened the survivor, including breaking her apartment windows. She reported this damage to the police and the apartment manager and also obtained a protection order. After she showed the protection order to the apartment manager the survivor/tenant received a lease violation and a denial of her request to transfer apartments. The press release describes how this survivor's story is not unique and how in this case, HUD proposed an agreement that the public housing authority accepted that would relocate the woman to another apartment, refund the money THAT SHE PAID for the broken windows, ban her ex-boyfriend from the property where she lived, and send housing authority employees to domestic violence awareness training. Advocates may find this press release helpful for its documentation of a specific case showing how evicting domestic violence survivors is a form of sex discrimination. It shows the difficult challenges faced by survivors of domestic violence trying to maintain their housing and also indicates the need for domestic violence training for public housing authority personnel. Advocates may also find this short piece helpful to show why adequate legal representation for survivors of domestic violence is a matter of safety and liberty.
General Material
