Gateway Battered Women's Shelter
P.O. Box 914
Aurora, CO 80040
Phone: (303) 343-1856
Fax: (303) 343-8094
The overall mission of Gateway Battered Women's Shelter (Gateway) is to work toward the elimination of personal and societal violence against all women and children by empowerment through education, support services, and by actually promoting social change within the community. In line with this mission, the following goals have been established to guide the shelter board and staff in meeting Gateway's mission:
- To provide quality services in a safe and confidential environment for all women and children who are victims of domestic violence
- To promote community awareness through training, education, and networking in order to achieve the community's involvement and support on issues of domestic violence
- To empower women and children in developing violence-free lives through crisis intervention, advocacy, and support services
- To promote accessibility to all women and children who are victims of domestic violence through outreach to traditionally silenced groups
- To affect social change by evaluating and challenging attitudes and policies that promote violence against women and children
- To effectively utilize volunteer services in all levels of the organization
- 24 hour crisis line offering crisis intervention, information, and referrals
- Emergency shelter for up to 38 women and children
- Individual, group, and family counseling for resident and nonresident women and children
- Community development program with education and training, speakers' bureau, and volunteer program
- Criminal Justice Program that coordinates with the police, prosecutors, courts, probation, and service providers to increase the effectiveness of intervention and treatment of domestic violence incidents
Gateway Battered Women's Shelter (Gateway) has entered its second decade of service provision to victims of domestic violence who live within the City of Aurora and Arapahoe County. The development of Gateway was initiated in 1977 with the merger of two grassroots efforts--Aurora Community Mental Health Center's Battered Women9s Shelter Project and the Arapahoe Battered Women's Task Force. In January 1979, the project received funding from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, Aurora Community Development, and CETA, in order to initiate operations. A nonprofit corporation, Aurora-Arapahoe Battered Women's Shelter, Inc., was formed in February 1979, and the shelter opened for services on May 8, 1979, in a building donated by the City of Aurora.
In June 1981, the shelter entered a transitional phase, going from a project sponsored by the District Attorney's office to becoming a part of the Arapahoe County Community Services Department. The Board of Directors acted in an advisory capacity with major control and responsibility being held by the County. In August 1983, the shelter established independence from Arapahoe County by becoming a private, nonprofit corporation.
In 1985, Gateway purchased a second facility, enabling the organization to expand its bed capacity, as well as develop a comprehensive nonresidential program for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. In response to the need for expanded counseling services in Arapahoe County, Gateway opened another nonresidential counseling office in July 1993. In June 1996, Gateway purchased a small office building to replace this leased space and to permanently house nonresidential services in south Arapahoe County.
In March 1994, Gateway opened a second emergency shelter in southern Arapahoe County to increase geographic accessibility and available bed space for women and children fleeing family violence.
Since its inception, Gateway has been a leader in the field of domestic violence throughout the community, state and nation. Gateway was the first shelter in the community to establish a comprehensive counseling program for nonresident women and children. Gateway remains a leader in the provisidn of services to children, both in a residential and nonresidential setting. Gateway was also one of the first shelters in the nation to establish a Criminal Justice Program, designed to organize and coordinate the criminal justice and domestic violence service systems in Arapahoe County and the City of Aurora.
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