Urban Resource Institute is founded in Brooklyn as an affiliate of the Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation, with a focus on addressing unmet needs in communities across New York City. 

URI begins providing services to survivors of domestic violence at Harlem Hospital, establishing an early foundation for what would become one of the organization’s defining areas of expertise.

URI opens its first emergency domestic violence shelter in Manhattan, later known as Urban Women’s Retreat. 

The opening marks an important expansion from community-based services into residential programs providing immediate safety and support. 

URI opens Urban Center for Change, expanding transitional housing options for survivors of domestic violence and helping families move beyond emergency shelter toward greater stability. 

URI establishes the Working Women’s Internship Network, providing paid internships and employment experience to women living in URI shelters.

The initiative helps lay the foundation for URI’s future Economic Empowerment Program and its focus on addressing economic instability as a barrier to long-term safety.

URI launches the Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP), bringing education, counseling and healthy-relationship programming directly to young people in New York City schools. 

RAPP establishes prevention as an essential part of URI’s strategy to end cycles of violence—not simply respond after violence occurs. 

URI opens Urban Women’s New Beginnings and Urban Women’s Safe Haven, significantly expanding emergency domestic violence shelter capacity in New York City.

URI launches the Legal Education and Advocacy Program (LEAP), bringing trauma-informed legal education and advocacy directly to survivors living in shelter. 

LEAP helps survivors navigate issues including family law, immigration, orders of protection and other legal challenges that can affect their safety and stability. 

Nathaniel M. Fields is appointed Chief Executive Officer of Urban Resource Institute. 

URI also becomes fully independent from the Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation, beginning a period of significant organizational transformation, expansion and innovation. 

URI launches People and Animals Living Safely (PALS), New York City’s first program enabling domestic violence survivors to live in shelter with their pets. 

PALS addresses a critical but often overlooked barrier to leaving abuse: survivors should never have to choose between their own safety and the animals they love. 

The model would grow into one of URI’s signature innovations and help advance the national conversation around pet-inclusive human services. 

URI continues expanding PALS and opens dedicated pet spaces within domestic violence shelters.

URI also publishes early research examining the intersection of domestic violence and pets, helping build an evidence base for pet-inclusive sheltering.

URI enters a major new area of service by expanding residential programs to families experiencing homelessness. 

The organization opens new domestic violence and homeless-family residences and launches its Abusive Partner Intervention Program, adding accountability and behavior change to URI’s growing continuum of domestic violence prevention and intervention. 

The first URI Celebration is also held, bringing together supporters, partners, survivors and community leaders around the organization’s mission.

URI and the Center Against Domestic Violence announce plans to merge, bringing together two organizations with deep histories serving survivors and families across New York City.

The merger is completed in 2018, significantly expanding URI’s residential capacity and establishing URI as the largest provider of domestic violence residential services in the United States.

During this period, URI also strengthens its economic mobility work and expands what becomes the Economic Empowerment Program (EEP), helping survivors and families build pathways toward financial independence and long-term stability.

URI opens PALS Place, the first domestic violence shelter in the United States designed from the ground up so every residential unit can accommodate families and their pets. 

URI also launches Early RAPP, extending relationship-abuse prevention to younger students and reinforcing the organization’s commitment to intervening before patterns of violence become established.

URI marks its 40th anniversary amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Throughout the public health emergency, URI’s residential programs remain open around the clock, with frontline employees continuing to provide shelter, safety and essential services to survivors of domestic violence and families experiencing homelessness. 

The moment reinforces URI’s role as part of New York City’s essential human-services infrastructure. 

URI and the National Domestic Violence Hotline release the PALS Report and Survey: Breaking Barriers to Safety and Healing, examining the intersection of domestic violence and pets and providing recommendations for providers, policymakers and advocates. 

URI continues expanding pet-inclusive shelter while sharing lessons from PALS with organizations beyond New York City. 

URI opens Brighter Days, expanding domestic violence shelter and PALS services in Queens. 

The Economic Empowerment Program also launches its Fab Lab, introducing technology, design, fabrication and other future-focused learning opportunities for adults and young people in URI programs. 

URI celebrates the 10th anniversary of the PALS program and opens the PALS Place Pet Haven rooftop garden. 

URI also opens Strive and Helping Hands, adding new housing capacity for families experiencing homelessness. 

That year, URI convenes policymakers, survivors, practitioners and advocates for A Blueprint for Change: Ending Cycles of Gender-Based Violence & Homelessness, further strengthening the organization’s role as a convener and advocate for systemic solutions. 

URI opens New Visions in Queens, its 15th domestic violence shelter and another major expansion of pet-inclusive housing for survivors and their families. 

In the Bronx, URI opens Uplift Families Residence, a 161-unit, purpose-built residence for families experiencing homelessness. In partnership with the New York City Department of Homeless Services, URI pilots New York City’s first pet-inclusive homeless-family shelter model—extending lessons from PALS beyond domestic violence services. 

URI also takes an important step toward permanent housing development. Through New York City’s Shelter Acquisition and Predevelopment Fund, URI receives the fund’s first loan to support development of a new family shelter in Harlem, alongside plans for affordable and supportive housing. 

This marks an important evolution in URI’s strategy: moving beyond temporary shelter alone toward a broader continuum that includes permanent housing. 

URI deepens its role in research, policy and sector innovation. 

The organization launches PALS for All, building on more than a decade of PALS experience to help human-services organizations make programs and facilities more inclusive of families with pets—with the goal of advancing pet-inclusive social services throughout New York City. 

URI also partners with The Passage and the New York City Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence on research examining the intersection of homelessness and human trafficking and identifying opportunities for stronger, coordinated responses. 

In East New York, URI breaks ground on its portion of Innovative Urban Village, a major affordable-housing development that will provide permanent apartments and comprehensive services for survivors of domestic violence. 

An independent evaluation by the Urban Institute also finds promising results from URI’s Trauma-Informed Abusive Partner Intervention Program, strengthening the evidence that accountability, behavioral change and trauma-informed intervention can play an important role in preventing future violence.

URI opens Magnolia Gardens in Flushing, Queens, in partnership with the New York City Department of Social Services and Asian Americans for Equality. 

The purpose-built residence provides 90 apartment-style units for families with children experiencing homelessness and brings culturally responsive, multilingual, trauma-informed services to one of New York City’s most diverse communities. 

Magnolia Gardens also represents a new standard for shelter design as New York City’s first transitional shelter built to Passive House standards—bringing together family-centered services, sustainability and thoughtful design. 

At the same time, URI continues expanding its work beyond crisis response: strengthening prevention, economic justice, legal advocacy, accountability, pet inclusion, affordable housing and public policy.