As we continue working during this global pandemic, employees and supervisors are adjusting to working from home — some of us for the first time in our careers. We’re accustomed to walking down the hall to speak with our co-workers, but now we must rely on Zoom, Slack, Google Drive, and a host of other virtual tools and resources that help us stay connected but force us to learn new ways to do our jobs.
Despite all of these challenges, our critical services and the relationships we’…
This training is geared towards individuals and organizations that see the need to take a bold move to improve the way our Movement provides services to survivors of color while also supporting advocates of color. Sexual violence is greatly impacted and made more complex by all other forms of oppression, but issues of racism have long been swept under the rug within our Movement. Many organizations promote anti-oppression work but aren't able to describe or demonstrate how they are…
Service providers from all disciplines — medical and mental health, law enforcement, the courts, education, child welfare, and advocacy — can offer trauma-informed services to those they serve. Trauma-informed services approach people from the standpoint of the question "What has happened to you?" rather than "What is wrong with you?" It is important to note that providing trauma-informed services does not mean service providers must determine exactly what has happened to an individual.…
When you have a staff member who has a negative attitude and doesn't really seem to care about the work, the first thing that comes to mind is "burnout." However, it is important to distinguish whether the attitude and behavior is a result of vicarious trauma — the changes in a person's inner experience that come about because of handling an overload of other people's traumatic experiences — or burnout, which is dissatisfaction with the job itself. In either case, it is important to assess…
As managers of Community Sexual Assault Programs (CSAPs) you are aware of the Office of Crime Victims Advocacy accreditation standard (#AC1) that requires: “The agency ensures the cultural competency of its service delivery.”
This standard describes cultural competency as: “the ability of the organization to recognize and respect diverse cultural factors, and the effects of these factors on various communities’ need for and access to its services.”
Something unique to this…
This webinar will take an advanced look at a foundational skill in our work: communication. So much of advocates’ work with systems, survivors, and colleagues centers on effective communication. Advocates and managers are called to challenge the oppression woven into systems and do so while still maintaining a relationship to those systems. Sexual assault program staff are also responsible for challenging each other to grow in our understanding of oppression. Many of us come to the field…
Some highlights of this issue:
Those in the non-profit field work hard to keep or expand funding sources in order to offer more to their community. Expanding primary prevention services can benefit the whole community though! Here are some highlights of funding sources out there and tips for writing those funding requests!
Within our non-profit world there is an underlying burden that we place on our teams as it relates to navigating financial controls in work-related spaces. Our structures almost always emulate, favor and support the structures and professionalism of white supremacy. This is severely problematic in that it does not encompass and champion everyone through an anti-oppressive lens. As a result the following issues often remain unchecked when financial operations are left solely to one individual…
The Office of Crime Victims Advocacy (OCVA) funding has a new condition that requires that all staff who are likely to have contact with minors must have fingerprint background checks completed. This requirement stems from new federal requirements impacting pass-through funding sources VOCA and VAWA. Agencies/programs must have the fingerprint background checks completed before any staff or volunteers can provide direct services in which they are likely to interact with minors.
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