Case Studies

Building Dignity covers a continuum ranging from strategies that are easy and affordable in the near term to strategies that require longer term planning and investment. All of them are useful for programs that are looking to improve their current facility or considering moving into a new building, whether it is built new or new to them.

To Redecorate with well-chosen paint colors, flexible furnishings, and other finish options can go a long way toward improving the look and feel of an existing facility.

To Remodel an existing building to better fit the needs of the program will require a higher degree of planning, somewhat more investment, and the involvement of construction professionals. Redecorating and Remodeling can often be completed while the building is in use.

This website uses the term Rebuild to describe major renovations to existing buildings and new construction. Rebuilding will likely require that the building or portions of it be vacated while the work is taking place.

Lastly, we provide links to information to Rethink how we provide housing for domestic violence survivors and how Domestic Violence Housing First can effectively compliment your program’s emergency shelter services.

The case studies included in this section are organized by the continuum from Redecorating and existing building to Rebuilding from the ground up to show how other domestic violence shelters have altered their built environments. Each case study provides Project Data to give a sense of the scale and context of the shelter.