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Chicago, IL

Project Name

The Accessing Safety and Recovery Initiative (ASRI)

Geographic Focus

Rockford & North Side of Chicago, IL

Project Partners

Domestic Violence and mental Health Policy Initiative This link will open a new browser window.
(http://www.dvmhpi.org)

Growing Place Empowerment Organization

Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence This link will open a new browser window.
(http://www.ilcadv.org/)

Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health This link will open a new browser window.
(http://www.dhs.state.il.us)

Life Span This link will open a new browser window.
(http://www.life-span.org/)

Thresholds This link will open a new browser window.
(http://www.thresholds.org/)


Overview

The Accessing Safety and Recovery Initiative (ASRI) represents a multi-disciplinary team with a long history of working to address the needs of survivors of domestic violence who have psychiatric disabilities. The collaboration is made up of a long-standing project designed to address the unmet mental health needs of domestic violence survivors, the state coalition against domestic violence, the state’s Department of Human Services, a mental health consumer advocacy organization, a large multi-service psychosocial rehabilitation agency, and a multi-service domestic volence agency. This collaboration brings together the individual and collective experience of advocates, people with psychiatric disabilities; legal, clinical, domestic violence and peer support practitioners; administrators, policy generators and educators, and survivors.  In 2007, the collaboration received funding from the Office on Violence Against Women's Disability Grant Program. 

The vision of the Accessing Safety and Recovery Initiative (ASRI) is new capacity and changed systems within local communities in Illinois that will meet the needs of survivors of domestic violence and other lifetime trauma who are living with psychiatric disabilities. As part of this vision, survivors will have access to the full range of services and resources they want and need to achieve the outcomes that are important to them, including safety, recovery, connection and self-determination.

The mission of the Accessing Safety and Recovery Initiative is to work with local communities in Illinois to develop their capacity to meet the needs of survivors of domestic violence and other lifetime trauma who are living with psychiatric disabilities by:
  • Building collaboration at the local level among DV agencies, community mental health centers (CMHCs), state psychiatric hospitals and peer-support service providers;
  • Building on existing peer-support service delivery structures in Illinois to develop new, sustainable service delivery models and tools;
  • Providing ongoing cross-training, consultation and TA;
  • Working with local partner agencies to change policies, practices and priorities so that they are empowering to survivors, providers and local systems; and
  • Working with state agency partners to support new cross-sector service delivery models.
The OVW Disability Grant Program provides ASRI with the opportunity to work intensively with a few communities within the state to accomplish their mission.  The selection of communities to work within was based on several considerations, for example, willingness to commit to the project, in addition to the requirement of having a state psychiatric hospital, a community mental health agency with established peer support programming and a multi-service domestic violence agency within the geographic area.  ASRI selected two sites to partner with in building cross-sector collaboration and developing and implementing service delivery models that better meet the needs of survivors who are experiencing psychiatric disabilities: Rockford, IL and the North Side of Chicago.

In order to effectively improve services and create change within their own organizations and within their selected communities, the ASRI collaboration is taking part in a planning and development process that includes activities to: strengthen their collaboration, identify their focus, learn about the needs in their organizations, and develop a concrete plan for addressing those needs. ASRI is currently in the process of identifying their needs and will subsequently develop their strategic plan for change.  As their work evolves, so will the information contained in this section.

Planning For Change

This section contains files that document ASRI's planning and development process, including their efforts to:  strengthen their collaboration; identify their needs; and strategically plan for change in their partner agencies and selected communities. 

Strengthening Their Collaboration

As part of the planning phase of their grant project, ASRI worked on strengthening their collaboration. They collectively determined and agreed upon: member roles and responsibilities; a vision and a mission; shared values; decision making and conflict resolution protocols; policies on confidentiality; communications and work plans; and relevant definitions. Their collaboration charter summarizes these decisions. ASRI's collaboration charter is available in both a PDF Version and a Text Version below. 

Identifying Their Needs

After strengthening their collaboration and building a strong foundation to work from, the ASRI collaboration formulated a detailed plan for determining the needs within their selected communities.  The team is in the process of completing an in-depth needs assessment process to determine the needs of survivors of domestic violence who are living with psychiatric disabilities in their community partner organizations.  Through these organizational assessments, they have spoken to the individuals served in each of their partner agencies as well as agency leadership and staff.  The ASRI collaboration is currently in the process of creating a report outlining their needs assessment findings. 

Next Steps

Upon completion of their Needs Assessment Report, the ASRI collaboration will engage in a Strategic Planning process and create a detailed plan for overcoming the challenges identified through their needs assessment process. 

Contact Information

Domestic Violence and Mental Health Policy Initiative

Carole Warshaw
312-726-7020, ext. 14 (v)
312-726-4110 (tty)
clwarshaw@aol.com