Sure. Thank you for the question.
Really, I'm here to present the homeward bound program as a really good example of a model that addresses both social and financial structural barriers. I think previous witnesses recognized that it's never a one-faceted problem when it comes to partner violence. Women and girls who flee those violent situations face multiple issues. If in the community there are no tools they can turn to and feel they can trust so that they can actually flee the violence and feel safe, they won't leave the relationship or the environment they're currently in.
In general, if you are a woman who is experiencing abuse and you would like to move on with your life, often it's not just emotional abuse. It's also economic and sometimes physical abuse. Women experience different types of abuse. If they're economically dependent, the first thing they need to consider when moving out of the relationship is finding affordable housing.
Previous witnesses talked about the difficulty of locating affordable housing nowadays. That's why in the program we try to tackle those issues. One of the recommendations, if I can explore and expand on it a little bit more, is core funding for those comprehensive model programs that address not just providing immediate shelter to flee the abusive and violent situation but also providing opportunities so that this person can actually tackle the barriers and improve their education, have more permanent housing for themselves, particularly when there are children involved, and have employment opportunities, not just survival jobs but opportunities that will provide them with economic self-sufficiency.
Really, that's the recommendation. It's to look holistically at the situation. These women usually face not just one barrier. It's not a one-silo type of problem.