Sanctuary for Families’ Sarah Burke House (SBH) is a state-of-the-art domestic violence transitional shelter, which has been cited as a model for transitional shelters around the state and the country. It is the first and largest of its kind in New York State.

Sarah Burke House provides safe, comfortable transitional housing for up to 56 survivors of domestic violence and their children each night. The shelter consists of 43 apartments - 30 single family units and 13 two family units. Each apartment is fully furnished and contains a living room, bathroom, kitchen, and one or two bedrooms. The shelter also includes staff offices, group rooms, a library/computer room, a fully equipped medical clinic, a childcare room (fully renovated in 2008), and an outdoor play area. Founded in 1992, Sarah Burke House is the first, and largest, transitional domestic violence shelter in New York State.

Sarah Burke House clients are survivors of domestic violence who are not yet prepared to live independently because of the severity of the abuse they have experienced, the continued threat of domestic violence, and/or a lack of safe, permanent housing. Sarah Burke House staff is committed to the safety, healing and self-sufficiency of our clients. Our services, provided in both English and Spanish, assist the families in our shelter to be empowered to make the transition from a period of crisis to independent lives that are free from abuse. These services include:

• The Aftercare Program: Assists women preparing to move out of shelter and into their own apartments.

• The Children’s Program: Offers a broad range of counseling and recreational activities for children living in shelter.
• The School-Age Children’s Program: Provides programming for children after-school, on weekends, and during summer vacation.
• Educational Workshops: SBH offers workshops for its residents throughout the year. Topics include parenting, financial planning, and computer skills.
• Family Services: SBH offers all residents numerous programs and services in addition to its shelter services, such as help navigating the public assistance and housing systems, individual counseling and group counseling, and case management.
• Recreational Activities: SBH offers family outings and events throughout the year, which are intended to strengthen ties in the new family unit. Activities range from outings to museums, parks, and sports events to special on-site holiday events such as Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day parties.
• Case Management Services: Each family in the facility is assigned to a case manager who provides referrals, advocacy, and supportive counseling. Case managers act as a liaison between community agencies and support services to assist clients in addressing public benefits issues, legal procedures, training and education needs, employment searches, and medical and mental health concerns.
• Housing Assistance: All SBH clients work with a housing specialist, who assists them in their search for safe, permanent housing. SBH housing specialists refer clients to appropriate housing assistance programs, assist them in completing their housing applications, and advocate for clients with the various city agencies, brokers and landlords until clients have obtained their apartments.
• Individual Counseling: A master's level social worker conducts psychosocial assessments for all SBH clients, and is available to all clients for regular clinical counseling, crisis interventions, and mental health referrals.
• Support / Activity Groups: In addition to the aftercare groups listed below, SBH offers a women's support group and a variety of other groups, including groups such as a mother / child art therapy group, a poetry group, a dance / movement therapy group, and a crocheting group throughout the year to all SBH clients.
• Medical Services: The New York Children's Health Project, a program of Montefiore Medical Center and the Children's Health Fund, runs a weekly, on-site medical clinic available exclusively to SBH clients. The clinic's medical staff includes a registered nurse, a pediatrician, and an internist.
• Legal Services: all SBH clients have access to legal services through the Sanctuary for Families legal department.

Only families who are currently in emergency domestic violence shelters are eligible for this program. Referral are made through the NYC HRA Office of Domestic Violence.