Thanks to our community of supporters, FVAP helped lead the passage of SB 1051 in 2024, expanding housing protections for survivors.Through our End-of-Summer Housing Campaign, we’re raising funds to make sure every survivor in California can use these rights–and avoid homelessness before it begins. 

And right now, every gift goes twice as far! An anonymous donor will match every donation made between now and September 17th–which means a $20 gift has $40 impact, and a $100 gift has $200 impact!

Money raised through this campaign will help cover time for an FVAP Housing Attorney to provide training and technical assistance on cases for the rest of the year—stopping survivors from being wrongfully evicted and ensuring they can stay safe in their homes.

Together, we can turn these protections into safe homes. 

Prior to joining FVAP in late 2018, Taylor worked as a direct services legal aid attorney representing clients with housing and economic rights issues. As a law student at University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law, she worked at Utah’s Disability Law Center advocating for the housing and employment rights of people with disabilities. In 2014, Taylor returned to California and began working at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley as a Staff and then Senior Attorney representing clients in various housing claims including, eviction defense, housing subsidy terminations, fair housing discrimination, habitability issues and restraining orders.

Since 2018, Taylor has led FVAP’s efforts to pass SB 1017 and SB 1051, which secured significantly stronger eviction protections and lock change protections for survivors across California and created a specific legal right for survivors in California not to be denied housing because they are a survivor. We are proud to have Taylor lead FVAP’s Housing Safety and Justice program.

Learn more about FVAP’s programs here.

A new study published in Circulation, an educational journal of the American Heart Association | American Stroke Association, shows that stalking and the stress of seeking a restraining order can increase women’s long-term risk of cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke, etc.). Survivors who experienced stalking had a 41% higher risk, and those who needed to secure restraining orders saw a 70% higher risk.

Why it matters: This research validates what many survivors and advocates already know from lived experience—abuse and stalking take a serious toll not only on safety, but also on long-term health. It underscores the need for holistic support that addresses both safety and medical well-being.

Read the full study here »

August 2025 - FVAP Washington worked with pro bono lawyers from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP to represent a survivor defending her domestic violence protection order. We won. This is the first published case in Washington to thoroughly analyze what "coercive control" means as a form of domestic violence, and to establish that a survivor does not need to prove an abuser's intent to harm.

Read how this case helps survivors»

We are in the middle of a 30 day public comment period for proposed changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness. These proposed changes would make it so that workers who dedicate their career to public service have a much harder time accessing the student loan forgiveness that makes such careers sustainable for low and middle income families. This has the potential to drastically harm our ability to recruit and retain talented attorneys and other professionals, which is why FVAP opposes these changes. 

Our friends at Legal Aid Association of California (LAAC) have created a page here, which links many other resources (from the Student Borrowers Protection Center, the American Bar Association, and the National Council of Nonprofits) to learn more about the changes and ways to oppose it, if you are inclined to do so. 

We encourage you as board members, volunteers, donors, and supporters to comment. This is a collective benefit, and if FVAP is "decertified" as an employer because of a vague description of "illegal activities," the impact on our recruitment and retention of staff will be felt by all our supporters. 

The proposed changes directly threaten nonprofit employers working with undocumented immigrants, supporting transgender children, or advancing racial and social equity.

If you’re an individual, click here for a comment generator form created by LAAC to easily submit a comment. If you’re a pro bono volunteer or other FVAP supporter, use this template to submit a letter.

It's important that others understand what is at risk, and you, our partners and friends, help defend this benefit for FVAP and the larger nonprofit community.

Are you planning to attend the National Conference on Domestic Violence this October? Don’t miss Jennafer Dorfman Wagner, FVAP’s Director of Programs, as she co-leads a workshop with Carmen E. McDonald from Survivor Justice Center on current legal issues impacting survivors, advocates, and non-profits.

Current legal issues facing survivors, advocates, and non-profits
This session will provide an overview of the laws on confidentiality, privacy, and privilege in the current climate for survivors. We will also focus on immigrant survivors, warrants and subpoenas. Participants will get an update on the legal landscape and learn tools that help inform decision making. Through interactive discussions, and practical frameworks, this workshop provides participants with up-to-date information, perspectives and concrete skills to enhance survivor safety and provide trauma informed services.

The conference will take place October 27–29 in Kansas City, MO. Learn more and register here!

Right now, nonprofits across California are experiencing major declines in giving. By joining FVAP’s Sustainers' Circle and making your donation to our housing campaign a recurring one, you can make a powerful, lasting impact.

Sustainers give monthly or weekly, helping ensure survivors have consistent access to legal protection—regardless of income. Your ongoing support gives FVAP a reliable funding stream, so we can focus more on serving survivors and less on fundraising.

If you aren't already, join the Sustainers’ Circle today and stand with us year-round.