🎉 We made our Back to School Sponsorship goal! Thank you to all of our amazing Back to School Sponsors for signing up to provide kids at Doorways with all they need to start the school year! Meet Doorways' Board President, Michelle Sagatov Michelle Sagatov has been an Arlington resident since 2001. She is a realtor at Washington Fine Properties and an affiliate of Sagatov Design + Build, owned by her husband, Yuri Sagatov. Michelle and Yuri have lived in 11 different Arlington neighborhoods, renovating and then reselling their homes. Prior to becoming a realtor, Michelle served with the Arlington County Police Department for five years. Michelle was also one of the first girls' soccer coaches for Arlington Soccer Association. When Michelle is not working or volunteering her time with Doorways, you can find her on the side lines watching her kids, Alina and James, play sports. Q&A with Michelle Doorways: Tell us about your Doorways journey. Michelle: I was first introduced to Doorways in 2001 when I was in Police training for Arlington County. I had responded to a domestic call, and we transported a mom and her kids to Doorways' Safehouse. Fast forward 10 years to when clients of my husband's and mine asked us to help renovate the Safehouse. We raised over $200,000 to renovate and transform the Safehouse. After this experience we really grew to admire what Doorways did for our community and we were "all in" to be part of the Doorways family. It's been a family partnership where Yuri, my husband, was on the board for 6 years before me and now my daughter, Alina Sagatov, has brought Doorways' mission and prevention program to her high school at Washington-Liberty. Since 2011, we have been involved with Doorways in a variety of compacities, whether its raising funds, furnishing scattered sites for domestic violence safe apartments, being on the board, chairing the annual fundraiser and now serving as the Board President. After games they hosted to raise funds and awareness on behalf of Doorways, Washington-Liberty soccer players celebrate their success with Diana Ortiz, Doorways' President and CEO. D: What part of being the Board President excites you most? M: In no particular order, I am excited to work more with Diana Ortiz, our fearless leader, get to know the amazing staff at Doorways and learn more how I can help leverage my skills and partnerships in the next two years. I feel very lucky to be surrounded by such a stellar board that are incredibly sharp, willing to help and are such incredible humans. I am excited at the changes coming down the pipeline, like renovating our family home and our headquarters moving down the block. D: When you are not busy bringing your A-game to Doorways or being a rockstar realtor, how do you enjoy spending your time? M: I have a t-shirt that says, "Sorry can't - Soccer!" which sums up a lot of my free time; whether it's carpooling my kids to their practice, watching their high school games or weekend games, attending the NWSL's Spirits game and now ramping up for the Women's World Cup. Our whole family enjoys the sport. We also enjoy hiking, biking around DC, skiing in the winter and hanging out with our friends and family. Meet Doorways' Board Officers Read Officer Bios See Board List In the News Housing First Is a Promising Approach to Help Domestic Violence Survivors Attain Stability and Safety A new study examining the Domestic Violence Housing First (DVHF) model found that "survivors who received the DVHF intervention experienced improved housing stability, safety, and mental health over two years." "The DVHF model exhibits promise in assisting domestic violence survivors facing housing instability to attain safe and stable housing." The authors recommend that policymakers, agency leaders, practitioners, and researchers take steps based on the key findings. Read Article How do Doorways' current programs measure up against the new research? Tailor services to meet survivors' housing needs: "Develop and support housing programs that address survivors' specific needs, such as ones that provide a secure, safe space with sufficient resources to maintain it. Such programs can allocate resources to enable staff to build relationships with landlords and housing authorities, gain local knowledge, and provide personalized advocacy." ✓ Already in place Doorways' HomeStart Supportive Housing Program implements the best practices of housing first in combination with trauma-informed support and services tailored to survivors' needs, as well as the needs of their children who have been impacted by domestic violence. Doorways' Housing Locator and Advocate partners with local landlords and housing providers to help our clients secure housing. Doorways staff are active participants in Arlington's Continuum of Care, Arlington Landlord Partnership, and other groups where we advocate on behalf of the survivors we serve. Allocate flexible funding for housing assistance: "Additional funding is needed for staff training and to flexibly meet survivors' complex and changing needs, allowing for individualized assistance and sufficient time and resources to support their housing stability." ✓ Already in place, and ! More funding needed In addition to the higher education our staff have before coming to Doorways, our team members complete 40 hours of core training when they begin working with us, plus 20 hours per year of continuing professional development. Doorways' approach is based on meeting survivors complex and changing needs; however, we agree that additional funding is needed to support this approach! Support further research and evaluation: "Investing in long-term evaluations, qualitative studies, and diverse research approaches can help gain insights into survivors' experiences and perspectives." ✓ Already in place ! More needed Doorways seeks feedback and input from our clients through quarterly client surveys to help assess and improve our programs. We are in the process of launching a Client Council, which will provide an additional channel for clients and graduates to shape our programs. We are also working to further disaggregate the data we collect to gain additional insights needed to inform our pursuit of justice and equity.   Share This Email Share This Email Share This Email Doorways | P.O. Box 100185, Arlington, VA 22210 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!