Healing Abuse Working for Change, Inc. (HAWC)

Healing Abuse Working for Change, known as HAWC, is a Salem-based agency that provides free and confidential services to people experiencing domestic abuse on Massachusetts’ North Shore. It helps women, children, men and nonbinary people live free from violence and fear, offering a domestic abuse helpline, emergency shelter, legal services, advocacy and counseling. Survivors can get help understanding whether what they are experiencing is abuse and can work with an advocate on a safety plan.

For close to 40 years, HAWC has worked with survivors so they can make informed, independent decisions about their futures. Its mission goes beyond direct services to creating social change against personal and societal patterns of violence and oppression. The agency offers public education, volunteer opportunities, annual community events and updates on related legislation, and it shares guidance for friends and family members who suspect that someone they love is being abused.

What to Know

• HAWC serves more than 2,500 families each year.
• Its service area covers 23 cities and towns on the North Shore.
• A hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, and services are offered both in person and virtually.
• People who cannot safely call can request an appointment through an online form.