For over five decades, Women in Transition (WIT) has been a source of safety, strength, and empowerment for individuals impacted by domestic violence and substance abuse in Philadelphia. Founded in 1971 as a feminist collective, WIT now leads the way in trauma-informed, survivor-centered care, offering free, confidential services to hundreds each year. Their mission: to empower people to thrive beyond domestic violence and substance use.

WIT serves people of all genders, races, backgrounds, and identities, including LGBTQ+ survivors. Their work is grounded in the understanding that abuse is often compounded by systemic barriers such as poverty, racism, social stigma, and housing insecurity. WIT’s team of trained professionals offers holistic support that meets survivors wherever they are—whether in crisis or rebuilding their lives. Each year, WIT provides hundreds of hours of free individual counseling and therapy, dozens of peer support group sessions, recovery services that recognize the intersectionality of both domestic violence trauma and substance use, and outreach and training that touches thousands across Philadelphia.

Services offered by WIT range widely, to meet the varied and unique needs of survivors. WIT offers free, confidential emotional support and safety planning through its LifeLine and the Philadelphia Domestic Violence Hotlines. Individual and group counseling and therapy encourages and empowers survivors to make decisions on their own terms and offers healing through shared experiences and community. WIT is one of very few domestic violence organizations that fully integrates substance use support, through a harm reduction and trauma-informed approach to help survivors navigate recovery alongside safety planning. WIT also offers prevention and education outreach to the larger Philadelphia community, including workshops to raise awareness and train others to support survivors and empowerment self-defense courses.

Supporters of WIT can get involved in many ways, whether by spreading the word about the organization’s hotlines and resources, hosting or attending a training, advocating for policies that truly support survivors, or joining its Board or even planning committees. Learn more and get involved here.

WIT doesn’t just respond to crisis; they help survivors reclaim their voice and define their future.