State Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Chehalis, recently toured the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Clark County domestic violence shelter in Vancouver, meeting with staff to discuss rising demand for survivor services.
The visit highlighted the shelter’s role in providing safety and stability for families experiencing abuse and the region’s ongoing gaps in emergency and long-term housing, a news release by Washington State House Republicans stated.
“The YWCA shelter is doing incredible work under challenging circumstances,” Abbarno said in the release. “But as the need grows, resources have not kept pace. Survivors deserve access to safe emergency shelter, long-term housing options, counseling, legal support and the stability needed to break the cycle of violence.”
Program leaders told Abbarno the region lacks adequate domestic-violence-specific housing, including transitional and long-term units that help survivors regain independence. The YWCA is preparing to begin design work on a future housing and empowerment campus, supported in part by a $400,000 allocation in the 2025 capital budget, the release stated.
Abbarno, who serves as the assistant ranking member on the House Capital Budget Committee, said expanding housing and survivor services should remain a legislative priority.
“Every survivor who reaches out for help should find a door that is open, not a waitlist,” he said. “We owe it to victims and their families to do better.”
