From this feminist movement many community based programs that address crimes against females were developed. Most were staffed by volunteers and financially supported by various public and private funds. Today shelters and safe homes provide temporary refuge for crime victims. Other immediate services rendered consist group therapy, which assists victims in sharing common experiences and helps to restore selfworth, counseling, training and provision of food. These programs gear their services primarily to battered women and their children.
Minorities are less informed about the availability of services provided by shelters and safe homes.
Therefore, it is critical that minority community residents become informed and the encouraged to take advantage of these programs and services. Without the full utilization of these programs by victims of crimes, communities will continue to be unproductive and unresponsive to the needs of crime victims. Because of this type of attitude, some community members in urhan and heavily populated minority neigborhoods express little interest in development and maintenance of a safe and healthy environment in which live. In essence, these community residents see very little value in their surroundings or themselves. As a result, all too often the community is deprived of the richness of maturing and prospering.