AWI Grant Helping to Expand Resources for Domestic Violence Survivors and Their Pets in Illinois

April 9, 2026 in Companion Animals, Safe Havens for Pets

Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is pleased to announce Oasis Women’s Center as the recipient of its 2026 Safe Havens for Pets Desert Grant to expand sheltering resources for the pets of domestic violence survivors in underserved communities.

Following a rigorous analysis of national data, AWI identified Illinois as a “safe haven desert”—an area that lacks adequate sheltering services for pets of domestic violence survivors. This grant cycle, organizations in the state had the opportunity to apply for up to $20,000 through a competitive process.  

Oasis Women’s Center, which serves five counties in Illinois, is using AWI’s grant to help establish a Companion Animal Support Program for survivors of domestic abuse. The project involves renovating the existing shelter to include pet-friendly spaces, launching a new foster program, funding off-site boarding services for dozens of pets of survivors, conducting outreach in rural communities, and expanding community partnerships.

Programs of this kind are desperately needed in Illinois, which ranks among the bottom 10 states for available domestic violence resources for people with pets. In 2024, the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline received nearly 60,000 calls, texts, or instant messenger chats from survivors, with shelter being the most requested resource. In recent years, the state has also seen a dramatic rise in the number of deaths caused by domestic violence.

Decades of research have documented the profound and devastating link between animal abuse and domestic violence. Abusers commonly exploit partners’ love for their pets as a means of manipulating or controlling them; in various surveys of domestic violence survivors with pets, up to 89% have revealed that their companion animals were also threatened, harmed, or even killed. Survivors consistently report that they delayed leaving a dangerous situation because they had no access to or awareness of a place where their pet would be safe.

“When Oasis Women’s Center announced we would begin accepting pets, the response was immediate,” said Jenna Giess, executive director of Oasis Women’s Center. “Within two days, we welcomed two dogs and one cat into shelter alongside survivors who shared that they would have never left their abuser without knowing their pets could come too.”

In a 2021 survey from the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 50% of survivors reported that they would not consider seeking shelter if they could not take their pets with them—making the existence and public awareness of pet-friendly sheltering resources critical for survivors’ safety. Since 2011, AWI has operated the Safe Havens for Pets directory, which provides a searchable database of more than 1,200 programs nationwide designed to help individuals who are experiencing domestic violence and/or homelessness find resources for their pets.  

“Ten years ago, only about 3% of domestic violence shelters in the United States were pet-friendly,” said Claire Coughlin, director of AWI’s Companion Animals Program. “While this percentage has improved, there is still much progress to be made. We are thankful to Oasis Women’s Center for its efforts to expand their desperately needed services in Illinois so that more survivors can find safety alongside their beloved companion animals.”

During the previous grant cycle, AWI awarded Safe Havens for Pets Desert Grants to two organizations, one based in Mississippi and the other in North Dakota, states that are also under-resourced. Both recipients—the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society and the Rape Abuse and Crisis Center in Fargo—subsequently established pet-friendly sheltering services for domestic violence survivors in their areas.

Additional grant opportunities will be announced later this year.