The Retreat’s mission is to provide safety, shelter and support for victims of domestic abuse and to break the cycle of family violence.
The Retreat’s Services & Programs Core Services Include:
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Hotline Services – Telephone crisis intervention is available 24 hours per day. Staff and trained volunteers link callers to the shelter, outreach services, police, and emergency health services, while providing supportive listening, basic information, and referrals.
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Counseling – Individual and group counseling is provided for adults and children. Clients take control of their lives, make positive changes without guilt and begin to heal. Group counseling combines education about abuse with mutual support.
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Legal Advocacy – Trained legal advocates accompany victims to court, explain the legal process, and assist in obtaining orders of protection, stay away orders and custody.
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Violence Prevention and Education – In-school education programs effectively help children and teenagers build self-esteem while enabling them to identify and understand how to deal with problem situations. We educate the community via workshops and presentations about domestic violence.
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Residential Services – The emergency shelter provides housing for 18 adults and children for an up to 90-day length of stay. Services available at the shelter include counseling, legal advocacy, education, and case management, among others.
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Crime Victim Assistance – Working with police, The Retreat provides immediate confidential response and assistance to victims of domestic violence. In addition, The Retreat provides: Rape and Sexual Assault Services, Children’s Services, Support Groups, and Information & Referrals.
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Suffolk County Fatherhood Initiative – The Suffolk County Fatherhood Initiative is a community-level program funded by the Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Family Assistance. The major emphasis of the program is to address economic stability, responsible parenting, and healthy marriage/long term relationships that will provide positive outcomes for fathers and youth.
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Structured Help Antiviolence Re-education Program - SHARP is an educational program designed to work toward respectful and healthy relationships for people who have chosen hurtful, controlling, abusive, and/or violent behavior toward an intimate partner. Educational sessions conducted in a group format work to provide feedback and intervention on each individual participant’s patterns of hurtful behavior.
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Self Sufficiency Training - Hope Heels provides career guidance and financial education to survivors of domestic abuse. Through a series of guided workshops, clients receive training in personal finance, guidance in professional development, and ultimately a lift in their own personal perspective.
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Teen Leadership Project - The mission of the Teen Leadership Project is to prevent abuse and promote respect in all relationships, to support The Retreat and expand its focus to include the prevention not just of domestic violence, but also of all sorts of relationship abuse, including bullying and harassment, sexual assault, and teen dating violence.
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Transitional Housing Program – Provides assistance for clients with accessing and maintaining safe housing and support services, including economic and housing goals, housing counseling, financial assistance, advocacy, emotional support, referrals for resources and economic stability via education.
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Job Access Reverse Commute – A mobility management program that provides hundreds of low-income, domestic violence-affected individuals in Suffolk County with obtaining a higher level of awareness and access to transportation options and services.
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Barrier and Stigma Elimination – Project BASE identifies and implements successful methods to allow services to become more accessible to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, who are living with mental illness.
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Partners In Protection – Working collaboratively with LI Against Domestic Violence, this initiative focuses on prevention of sexual assault of youth and young adults in foster care, substance abuse treatment, and developmental disabilities communities.
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Campus Security – In partnership with Nassau Community College, this program combats violence against women by building upon the current strengths of NCC’s departments and organizations in association with the Nassau County Police Department.
