RedRover Relief
Safe Escape grants
The RedRover Relief Safe Escape grant program helps families with pets safely escape domestic violence together. Funding is mainly provided to help with the cost of temporary pet boarding while a survivor is in a domestic violence shelter, though other costs associated with boarding (like vaccinations) can be considered. Assistance does not typically cover pet boarding once the survivor has moved from the safe house into transitional housing.
Applications must be submitted by a domestic violence advocate and we will respond within one business day. Funding cannot be guaranteed until after we have received an application and spoken with an advocate. Please see below for more detailed information.
If you are a victim of domestic violence and need immediate assistance:
- Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.799.7233.
- Visit DomesticShelters.org to find domestic violence shelters that offer a pet program.
- Visit Safe Haven for Pets to find animal organizations that provide boarding or fostering for pets, as well as domestic violence shelters that offer a pet program.
Due to an overwhelming number of applications, the Safe Escape grant will be closed to new requests for assistance from through the end of 2024. The application will reopen in mid-January 2025, and will assist with boarding from that date forward.
Steps to Apply
Eligibility Guidelines
Read the eligibility guidelines below to make sure the situation meets our grant guidelines.
Complete Application
Eligibility Guidelines
For the safety of the survivor, applications must be submitted by a domestic violence shelter representative on behalf of the survivor.
The program is unable to respond to requests by email, phone, fax, or mail.
Information and steps to take before a Domestic Violence Advocate submits an application:
- The Safe Escape grant is only available in the United States.
- The advocate and survivor should establish a plan for how the animal’s needs can be met. They should work together to contact a boarding kennel and/or veterinary clinic and obtain a written estimate for boarding and/or vaccinations needed to enter boarding. RedRover cannot provide this information to you as we do not know what resources are available in your area.
- Assistance may be limited depending on the cost of services, length of boarding, and number of animals needing assistance. If we determine that the cost of services requested is too high, we may ask that another service provider be found or that the survivor or shelter assist with a portion of the cost.
- The daily cost of boarding may not exceed $40 per animal per day. That amount is our maximum and we do ask that efforts be made to find lower cost boarding. We will pay for the lowest priced boarding that is available, if the survivor would like to use a more expensive kennel we may not be able to help with all or any of that cost.
- Our assistance is typically limited to 3 or fewer pets per family. Exceptions may be made if the daily cost of boarding is below $20 per animal.
- We are unable to cover boarding for animals under six months of age. If the survivor’s animal is pregnant entering boarding, please let us know and we will discuss how our assistance can be applied.
- This grant does not typically cover the cost of medical care beyond vaccinations necessary to begin boarding. If medical care is needed for pets while in boarding, and RedRover is being asked to pay, we will need to pre-approve those expenses. If we are not asked, or are not able to approve the cost, the survivor will be responsible for those charges.
- A domestic violence shelter advocate may submit an application on behalf of a survivor who is either currently staying in their shelter or is actively working on entering their shelter. RedRover’s boarding assistance typically only applies when survivors are in shelter, though exceptions may be made if the domestic violence shelter is over capacity and the survivor is on a wait list.
- The advocate must check in with us monthly to request an extension of assistance if the survivor is still in shelter, and also let us know when the survivor leaves shelter.
- The Safe Escape program will help with a maximum of six (6) months of boarding while the survivor is in shelter. This assistance is contingent upon a survivor being in shelter and will end when a survivor leaves shelter, regardless of the date we have approved our assistance through.
RedRover will consider covering the cost of vaccinations for animals allowed to stay with survivors at the domestic violence shelter, provided that shelter has not received a Safe Housing grant from RedRover. This assistance is cost dependent and will not apply if the only animals allowed in shelter are service animals. We do encourage shelters who allow animals to include veterinary care as part of their program budget.
RedRover will make payment for boarding to the kennel and/or veterinarian monthly and will need a monthly invoice. Kennels and veterinarians must be willing to provide a Form W-9 (for tax purposes) if grants exceed $600 in a calendar year.
RedRover cannot help if any of the following apply:
- The boarding has already been completed, or boarding is already underway and we are being asked to pay for boarding that occurred before our application was submitted.
- The survivor is not currently in a domestic violence specific shelter or working with a domestic violence advocate toward entering a domestic violence specific shelter.
- The boarding will be provided by an individual, not a kennel or veterinarian. This includes pet sitting services.
- The domestic violence shelter has received a RedRover Safe Housing grant and has their own pet program.
Our business hours are 8:30 - 4:30 Pacific time, Monday - Friday. Applications submitted outside of these hours will be reviewed by our case managers as soon as possible the next business day. We review applications in the order they are received, and try to reply within 1 business day.
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Need additional domestic violence assistance?
Visit RedRover’s resource page for other sources of grant funding for DV shelters and resources for DV survivors.