Author: Tiff Hernandez

Are you a survivor interested in growing your savings? Do you have at least $40 a month to put towards your savings? FreeFrom is once again accepting new participants in our Savings Matching Program! We would love to join you on your savings journey and match you up to $40 a month PLUS a $20 end of program bonus. Apply today to join our Savings Matching Program!

Our Goal

Help survivors to grow a savings cushion of $500.

How It Works

Our Savings Matching Program is a trust-based savings matching program. Participants will self-report their savings each month and FreeFrom will match up to $40 a month for six months. PLUS a $20 end of program bonus on top of your last matching payment.

When does enrollment begin?

Starting today, you can enroll in the program! 

When will the program begin?

The program will officially begin November 1st. This enrollment period will remain open until 10/14 or until we reach the number of open spots available. However, if you are unable to join in time, the initial intake survey will remain open and you can fill out the survey to secure your spot for future open enrollments!

Is now the right time for you to participate? 

1. Do you have spare income to save $40 each month for at least six months? 

2. Do you have access to an internet connection via smartphone/tablet/computer to fill out a monthly survey?

3. Do you have a safe way to store your savings? (e.g. perhaps you are moving around and you may not have a secure place to keep your money and track your savings)

4. Do you have a safe way to receive your monthly matches (e.g. PayPal, Venmo, address we can send a check, bank account)?

If you answered no to any of these questions, it may be best to wait until you are able to answer yes with certainty to all four questions.

We want this program to be as beneficial as possible for you and it is perfectly fine if right now is not the best time!

Next steps:

1. Fill out the initial intake survey to secure your spot by 10/14 here: bit.ly/FFsaving
2. Watch one of our previously recorded webinar sessions in either English or Spanish. We hosted a webinar in August in both English and Spanish, that provided an overview of our Savings Matching Program. Although some dates mentioned are only relevant to the audience in August, there is helpful information to give you a greater understanding of how to get the most out of the program. You can view the videos by following the links below:
   1. English: https://youtu.be/wVw9WiDMLz0
   2. Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiJSIhy51Kk

¿Es un sobreviviente interesadx en aumentar sus ahorros? ¿Tiene al menos $40 al mes para poner en sus ahorros? ¡FreeFrom está aceptando nuevos participantes en nuestro programa llamado Crece tus Ahorros! Nos encantaría apoyarle en su viaje de ahorro e igualarle hasta $40 por mes MÁS un bono de $20 al fin de programa.

Nuestro objetivo

Ayudar a sobrevivientes a obtener ahorros de $500.

Cómo funciona
Nuestro programa Crece tus Ahorros es un programa de ahorros donde confiamos en la informacion que nos brinde. Lxs participantes reportan sus ahorros cada mes y FreeFrom igualará la cantidad de ahorros, hasta $40 por mes durante seis meses. ADEMÁS le vamos a proporcionar un bono de $20 al final del programa.

¿Cuándo comienza la inscripción?

¡A partir de hoy, puede inscribirse en el programa! 

¿Cuándo comienza el programa?

El programa comenzará oficialmente el 1 de noviembre. Este plazo de inscripción permanecerá abierto hasta el 14 de octubre o hasta completar el número de lugares disponibles. Sin embargo, si no puede apuntarse a tiempo, la encuesta permanecerá abierta y puede completar la encuesta para asegurar su lugar para cuando se abra la inscripción de nuevo.

¿Es el momento adecuado para que usted participe?

1. ¿Tiene ingresos adicionales para ahorrar $40 cada mes durante al menos seis meses?
2. ¿Tiene acceso a una conexión de internet a través de un teléfono celular / tableta / computadora para completar una encuesta mensual?
3. ¿Tiene una forma segura de guardar sus ahorros? (por ejemplo, tal vez se esté mudando y no tenga un lugar seguro para guardar su dinero y ahorros)
4. ¿Tiene una forma segura de recibir su pago de igualación de ahorros mensuales (por ejemplo, PayPal, Venmo, dirección a la que podemos enviar un cheque, cuenta de banco)?

Si respondió no a cualquiera de estas preguntas, le sugerimos que se espere hasta que pueda responder afirmativamente y con certeza a las cuatro preguntas.

Queremos que este programa sea lo más beneficioso posible para usted y está perfectamente bien si ahora mismo no es el mejor momento para comenzar. Habra posibilidades de empezar en otro mes.

Próximos pasos

1. Complete la encuesta de admisión para asegurar su lugar antes del 14 de octubre aquí: bit.ly/FFahorros
2. Mire una de nuestras presentaciones de webinar grabadas previamente en inglés o español. Grabamos un seminario web en agosto, tanto en inglés como en español, que brindó una descripción general de nuestro Programa de Ahorros. Aunque algunas fechas mencionadas sólo son relevantes para la audiencia en agosto, hay información útil para brindarle una mejor comprensión de cómo aprovechar al máximo el programa. Puede ver los videos siguiendo los siguientes enlaces:
   1. Inglés: https://youtu.be/wVw9WiDMLz0
   2. Español:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiJSIhy51Kk

Today, we are excited to share one of our biggest projects to-date: a report and roadmap grounded in first-of-its-kind data on how race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender and disability status shape survivors’ experiences and needs. 

In November 2020, we launched the second round of our Safety Fund and prioritized distributing grants to queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx survivors. We sent $534K in cash to more than 2,100 survivors across the country and surveyed them to learn about what they need to get and stay safe, heal, and thrive. 

We detail what we learned in our latest report, Support Every Survivor: How Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality and Disability Shape Survivors’ Experiences and Needs. The report expands the available data on:  

• survivors’ finances, particularly how the pandemic impacted them; 
• how survivors’ intersecting identities affect their experiences and the harm they’ve been subjected to; and  
• survivors’ needs, their goals, and what resources will enable them to achieve success, including what alternatives to police would most help survivors feel safe and supported. 

We also have an audio version of the full report available on: 

Here’s What We Learned: 

• 92.3% of survivors reported being subjected to economic abuse, and 36.5% reported that the economic abuse they’ve been subjected to got worse during COVID-19. 
• Survivors’ financial well-being is in the bottom 10th percentile for adults in the U.S. 
• The median amount of money survivors report having is $175.50, and the median savings they report having is $0. 
• Survivors who are not cisgender reported being subjected to an average of 9.5 types of harm, compared to survivors who are cisgender who reported an average of 6.1 types of harm.
• Disabled survivors are subjected to almost 2x the types of systemic harm that survivors without a disability are subjected to.
• 80.1% of queer survivors have been subjected to sexual assault, a rate that is 2.1x that of heterosexual survivors. 
• 82.6% of survivors who are genderqueer/genderfluid reported they put off seeing a healthcare/healing practitioner due to COVID-19, a rate that is 1.8x that of cisgender survivors. 
• 44.9% of Indigenous survivors and 32.5% of Black survivors have been subjected to police harassment/brutality, rates that are 2.7x and 1.9x that of white survivors, respectively.
• Only 38.5% of survivors would call the police in a moment of crisis or danger involving their harm-doer. When asked who they would call in a crisis, the number one response was a family member or friend (62.8%). 

Before and Beyond Crisis

Today, we are also launching Before and Beyond Crisis: What Each of Us Can Do to Create A Long-Term Ecosystem of Support for All Survivors, a roadmap for expanding our society’s response to gender-based violence beyond short-term crisis support. The roadmap makes survivor-informed recommendations for how every pillar of our society–from banks, hospitals, and schools to policymakers, employers, and other stakeholders–can help build a new ecosystem of support that addresses the reality of how GBV shows up in survivors’ lives. 

We all have a role to play in building the ecosystem. Whether you are a policymaker, employer, landlord, lawyer, funder, nonprofit employee, or community member, there is something for you to do. Read the roadmap to find out how you can contribute. #EveryoneHasAPartToPlay

We also have an audio version of the full report available on: 

 

Get Cash to Survivors

On average, survivors need $1,567 to make ends meet and stay safe. You can join the ecosystem of support for survivors by making a gift today to sustain our cash assistance program. All the money we raise on GoFundMe goes directly to survivors. 

We are very excited to share our latest report that we just released today, entitled, When Disaster Strikes: Lessons From Survivors Living Through Winter Storm Uri, that shares the stories of 661 survivors impacted by Winter Storm Uri who applied for cash assistance from FreeFrom. 

In February of 2021, Winter Storm Uri—a record-breaking coast-to-coast storm—brought record-low temperatures and unprecedented snowfall to the state of Texas. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, large-scale disasters not only exacerbate survivors’ already precarious circumstances, but also expose the pervasive lack of support for survivors within societal institutions and systems. We found that the #1 need reported by survivors affected by the storm is access to unrestricted cash, which aligns with other data our team has collected about what survivors need outside of a natural disaster situation. 

Some key takeaways from the data: 

• 1 in 4 survivors in our sample reported that the harm they had been subjected to started or got worse during Winter Storm Uri
• 25% of survivors reported the winter storm led to increased economic abuse or threats of economic abuse 
• 90% of survivors reported the winter storm created more expenses for them that they don’t know how to pay for
• 58% of survivors said they didn’t and would find it difficult to set aside savings for natural disasters or other emergencies
• 75% of survivors named access to unrestricted cash as one of their top needs; this was the most frequently reported need across all respondents

FreeFrom is launching a cash assistance fund for survivors who need help in covering the costs to safely get an abortion. 

We cannot talk about economic safety and physical safety for survivors without reproductive justice. Survivors must have access to healthcare services and full control over their own bodies. 

This will be a nationwide fund that any survivor of gender-based violence can apply to in order to cover the full costs associated with getting an abortion out of state, such as transportation, lodging, etc. 

The first step is to raise money and we need your help.

Can you invest in this fund and share it with anyone else you think might be interested in doing the same? Anything you can give will go directly to survivors. FreeFrom does not keep a fee, and your donation is 100% tax deductible. 

Thank you for your commitment to survivors’ safety. We are so grateful to be in community with you.

The FreeFrom team