How I found a career helping domestic violence survivors
Social justice was ingrained in Risa Mednick at a young age and it sparked her passion for a career helping others in need.
Risa Mednick has always been driven by social justice. And now, at the peak of her career, she is helping survivors of domestic violence get back on their feet.
Mednick, 50, is the executive director of Transition House, a domestic violence agency based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There, she works to help hundreds of women and families each year get the resources they need to move on after reports of domestic violence.
“What we’re doing is so essential to people’s lives and to create a healthier existence for everyone,” she says.
Domestic violence is a very real issue that affects one in three women in the U.S., according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Transition House has provided emergency shelter, transitional and supportive housing and youth prevention education to the community of Cambridge, Massachusetts since 1975.
Witnessing the personal growth of all the women and families that go through Transition House’s programs, as well as the relationships she’s built with them, are what Mednick finds most rewarding.
How she got into the field
Mednick grew up in a household where human rights were at the forefront, and it was those values, instilled by her parents at a very young age, that have guided her whole career.
“My parents were coming of age in the 50s and 60s and were engaged in the civil rights and feminist movements,” says Mednick.
Knowing she wanted to make a difference, Mednick majored in women’s studies as an undergrad at Hampshire College and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Mednick’s career portfolio includes working at Planned Parenthood in Ithaca, New York, in community economic development in organized labor for global nonprofit Accion International, and labor union Service Employees International Union (both in Boston). She joined the team at Transition House as a board member in 2008. Then, when the recession hit, she helped strengthen the agency’s leadership team and was appointed executive director in 2012.
“I believe that the work we do at Transition House to end domestic violence against women and people is fundamental human rights work,” she says.
What her typical day is like
For Mednick, no single day is the same. She works 12-hour days and juggles strategic planning, operations, advocating for policy change and raising money.
“I love the fact that I don’t have a typical day,” she says. “We have to be elastic to deal with the issues of each day.”
Mednick sees families come into Transition House in need of emergency shelter and assistance, and her team gives them the tools to change their situation. Ideally, families stay in the shelter for no longer than six months, and Transition House helps them move into either a transition living program or independent housing they can afford. Mednick is not the direct social worker for the agency’s clients, but with such a small team she sees every client that comes into the office.
There are many clients that use Transition House’s services for years trying to get out of abusive relationships or coordinating with the advocates on trauma recovery. Mednick sees children grow up and families thrive in their lives post-abuse. Transition House becomes a safe space for these families to always go back to for support and reassurance.
“We are so intimately involved in people’s lives. We know all our clients,” she says. “Our shelter staff, for example, are working in the space where people live.”
Through all the work she has done with domestic violence survivors, she has learned—to use one of Mednick’s phrases—that “survivors are thrivers.” She is able to see the true process of healing after abuse.
What she loves most about her job
Mednick works with a 30-person staff, which she says is incredibly diverse and strongly committed. “I love all the fantastic collaborations we get to have here,” she says. “I derive so much energy from our team.”
In addition to a great staff, Mednick says the interactions with the people Transition House serves and public policy advocacy are the most rewarding parts of her job. “We must constantly work to transform misperceptions about domestic violence and why our country and our states and our communities must invest in prevention education at all levels if we are to become a less violent culture,” says Mednick.
One of her favorite memories is when a former client returned to Transition House with a personal donation and a gift card she received from the organization a few years back. Mednick recalls the client wanting to give the gift card to someone who needed it. “We are really privileged to get to see people change,” she says.
Her career advice
“There is no major or curriculum for domestic violence prevention work,” says Mednick. She suggests interning and volunteering at many different social service organizations to find the niche that is right for you.
The people that do the best in this type of work have a “small ego, are self-motivated, and have a real fire in their belly for social change,” says Mednick. Most importantly, they are great listeners.
“There will never be enough people to do all the work that needs to be done here," she says.
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