24-Hour Crisis Line
(812) 336-0846

A National Model Domestic Violence Program and Rape Crisis Center

Middle Way housing

Emergency Shelter

Middle Way House provides shelter for women and children fleeing violence at home. The shelter is a safe place available to families until they have found an appropriate, affordable place to live. At the shelter, women and children sleep in family groups, eat congregate style, contribute to the upkeep of their own and group spaces, and take advantage of programs designed to help them move on with their lives.

For more information about our emergency shelter, call our crisis hotline at (812) 336-0846.

Housing Development

This program reflects the agency's intention to provide a continuum of housing to its target population and support housing development for low-income individuals and families in our community. Middle Way initiated formation of a housing provider's group to bring together agencies, corporations, and individuals interested in resolving the problems emanating from Bloomington's unenviable position as the community with the smallest stock of affordable housing in the state. The network proposed and won establishment of The Affordable Housing Trust Fund; Middle Way's Director held a seat on the Fund's Board. The Housing Development Program acquires and re-habs units for low-income individuals and families.

"The Rise"! Our Transitional Housing Program

Our facility, which opened it's doors in 1998, provides affordable housing for 28 poor and very poor, homeless families headed by women who have experienced life-threatening violence. The Program, which is designed to address the relationship between domestic violence and welfare during a time of national withdrawal from the concept of entitlements, recognizes that providing refuge from a particular abuser is insufficient to end the violence. Rather, efforts must be made to give the formerly disempowered the knowledge, skills, and confidence to take the power that is rightfully theirs to determine their own future. At The Rise!, women and children live in a safe and supportive community to which they contribute--in part with a portion of their incomes, but also with their unique skills and talents. Services and programs work to develop our residents' capacity for more independent living and free them from a number of the constraints that so often impede the transition from dependence to self-actualization among battered women and their children.

In addition, support groups and a service exchange encourage residents to recognize strengths within themselves and promote networking and healthy interdependence with their neighbors. The leadership training program is designed to provide women and children with the skills and confidence to participate in the life of the larger community through the political process, community service, and/or neighborhood associations.

Transitional Housing is a two-year program. At the end of that period, adult residents should be prepared to sustain stable housing, improve their position in the job market and children should be functioning at a level appropriate to their age. Therefore, programmatic interventions are designed to be sensitive not only to the needs but the growing capacity of residents: supportive services will be modulated to maximize women's and children's reintegration into the larger community.

For more information about our transitional housing program or to request an application, please call (812) 337-4510 or visit The Rise.