For my internship I have been working at a non-profit domestic violence shelter.  I have been able to work with the shelter staff and victims of domestic violence and feel I have gotten an accurate portrayal of how the shelter works and runs.  The shelter requires a lot of structure and has very strict guidelines for the residents.  The daily schedule consists of a 6:00 AM wake up followed by a morning chore and classes beginning at 9 AM. Classes are from 9-2:30 with a 30 minute lunch break in between classes.  These classes are used to educate the residents on the history of domestic violence while also allowing them to elaborate on their own experiences.  There are also classes on parenting or job-finding skills.  The overall goal of the shelter is to repair the mental damage the abuse has caused and help them get back on their own so they can afford to provide themselves and their children a safe home.  After class the residents have 2 and a half hours to be “productive.” This could include apartment searching, job searching, getting court paper work done or something they need to have done before leaving the shelter.  The program is only 60 days and so the residents need to get back on their feet and ready to provide for themselves in this short amount of time.  2 months may seem like a long time, but when considering all of the things these women have to accomplish while also letting themselves heal, it is very difficult.  The staff is very strict about enforcing the rules of the shelter and once someone has 3 infractions of the house rules, they are exited from the program.  These rules provide structure and allow the women to become used to a routine.  The problem I see with the strict nature of the shelter is that the residents have a hard time opening up to the staff out of fear of being exited.  The staff all care greatly about the residents, but there is a shortage of staff and so there usually are not enough staff to allow a lot of advocacy for the clients.  The residents are welcome to come into the office for advocacy at any time, but with the stress in the office it sometimes doesn’t seem to be very welcoming.  There is usually a volunteer or intern at the shelter to provide advocacy to the clients when the staff is too overwhelmed with running the shelter and answering the hotline.  The residents end up feeling much more comfortable talking to these people rather than the manager or lead advocates because they have time to sit and listen.  Someone to listen is what these women need most of the time.  Overall the shelter is run very effectively.  There are of course some victims who end up leaving before the 60 days are over, but this is usually because they are unable or unwilling to comply with the strict guidelines.