Calls for help from battered women surged amid pandemic. These groups offered a lifeline

what we saw was a 37.6 percent increase in the percentage of sheltered women with domestic violence in 2020, compared with 2019,” Collins said.

About 70 percent of the women and children Lotus House shelters have experienced domestic and intimate partner violence, she said. The pandemic exacerbated the situation in many ways.

“You have unprecedented stressors in the home,” Collins said, including healthcare concerns, loss of income, on-the-job stress, lack of reliable childcare, school closures, virtual schooling, financial insecurity and loss of loved ones.

While a call for services increased, Lotus House staff found themselves challenged. “We don’t have the option, the luxury, if you will, of ever becoming remote here,” Collins said. “The whole point of a homeless shelter is that we are here for those who have no place to call home. And so we had to remain fully operational throughout the pandemic and continue to be.”

In response, Lotus House altered operating and programming protocols and stepped up cleaning and safety methods. Their volunteer base, which shrunk to a handful from a pre-pandemic corps of 2,000, continued to serve meals and assist with programming and emergency homeschooling.

Fundraising took a hit, with the cancellation of in-person events. This year a virtual fundraiser is taking its place. “This has been probably the most challenging year we have faced financially because we don’t have that cushion,” Collins said. “But actually, it’s in these times that we are needed the most, and that we need the community’s help the most.”

Linda Parker, president and CEO of Women in Distress in Broward County, said at first there was a drop in calls for help.