Agency Details:
Ahimsa House
Perpetrators of domestic violence often hurt family pets to control and intimidate their victims. Ahimsa House, Inc. is Georgia's only nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the human and animal victims of domestic violence across Georgia reach safety together. The word "Ahimsa" represents the principle of nonviolence in the Sanskrit language.
Description:
Up to 71% of victims of domestic violence report that their abusers threatened, harmed, or killed pets. Hurting pets can be a powerful form of emotional abuse, and is often used to silence a victim (child or adult) from reporting physical or sexual abuse or to coerce a victim into returning to an abuser.
Yet fewer than 1 in 8 domestic violence shelters nationwide is able to accommodate victims' pets. As a result, as many as half of all victims report that they delayed seeking safety due to concerns about their pets.
Ahimsa House helps the human and animal victims of domestic violence reach safety together by:
- Providing confidential emergency shelter and veterinary care for animal victims of domestic violence
- Maintaining a 24-hour crisis line providing referrals and information on including pets in safety planning
- Raising awareness about the connections between animal abuse and domestic violence
History:
Ahimsa House was founded in 2003 by a survivor of domestic violence who had lost her own pet when, in order to escape her abusive situation, she was forced to place her with someone she barely knew. Her vision for Ahimsa House was that no victim of domestic violence should have to choose between her personal safety and the safety of a beloved pet.
Ahimsa House received its 501(c)3 status and its Georgia animal shelter license in 2004. Originally, our safe housing program operated through a central shelter facility in an undisclosed metro-Atlanta location. In Spring 2007, due to the financial and logistical challenges of maintaining a single physical shelter to serve the entire state of Georgia, Ahimsa House redesigned its program. The new Emergency Animal Safehouse Services program uses a combination of foster homes and boarding facilities to provide "safe haven" services in flexible locations that are more convenient for the victims we serve.
Contact people:
Main office number: (404) 496-4038
Address:
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PO Box 8181
Atlanta, GA 31106 |
Web Site: http://www.ahimsahouse.org
Directions:
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As an agency serving victims of domestic violence, all Ahimsa House service locations are kept confidential from the general public. |
Additional Information
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People At Risk
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| Last updated on October 27, 2009 |
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