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Haywood County, NC
Project Name
The H.O.P.E. Collaborative of Haywood County, North Carolina (Helping Our People Emerge... from Crisis to Healing)Geographic Focus
Haywood County, North CarolinaProject Partners
The ARC of Haywood County 
(http://www.arcofhaywood.org)
Haywood County Department of Social Services
(http://www.hsshaywood.org)
Haywood Vocational Opportunities, Inc.
(http://www.hvoinc.com/)
R.E.A.C.H. of Haywood County, Inc.
(http://www.reachofhaywood.com)
Smoky Mountain Center
(http://www.smokymountaincenter.org)
Thirtieth Judicial District Domestic Violence-Sexual Assault Alliance, Inc.
(http://www.30thalliance.org/)
Overview
The Haywood County, North Carolina collaboration is a group of six agencies that represent advocates for people with cognitive disabilities, the local department of social services, a vocational rehabilitation organization, the county domestic violence-sexual assault direct services provider, the county mental health provider, and a regional coalition that addresses domestic and sexual violence. As a recipient of the 2007 Office on Violence Against Women's Disability Grant Program, the collaboration formally adopted the name the H.O.P.E. Collaborative.
The vision of the H.O.P.E. Collaborative is that organizations in Haywood County take collective responsibility to provide a seamless system of quality, inclusive and responsive services that empower persons with disabilities and Deaf persons who experience violence and abuse to move from crisis to healing.
The mission of the H.O.P.E. Collaborative is that the collaborative will remove barriers to services and supports for persons with disabilities and Deaf persons who experience violence and abuse by fostering agency collaboration, creating a collective response, and changing organizational policies and procedures which will be fully integrated into the culture of our agencies.
In order to effectively improve services and create change in their organizations, the H.O.P.E. Collaborative took part in a planning and development process that included activities to: strengthen their collaboration, identify their focus, learn about the needs in their organizations, and develop a concrete plan for addressing those needs. After successfully completing a strategic plan for how to improve their organizations' response to survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors, the H.O.P.E. Collaborative has started to implement that plan.
Planning For Change
This section contains files that document the H.O.P.E. Collaborative's planning and development process, including their efforts to: strengthen their collaboration; identify their needs; and strategically plan for change in their partner agencies.
Strengthening Their Collaboration
As part of the planning phase of their grant project, the H.O.P.E. Collaborative 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 policies; policies on confidentiality; communications and work plans; and relevant definitions. Their collaboration charter summarizes these decisions. The H.O.P.E. Collaborative'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 H.O.P.E. Collaborative formulated a detailed plan for determining the needs and strengths in their organizations. The collaboration then completed an in-depth organizational assessment process to determine the needs of survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors. Through these organizational assessments at each of their direct service provider partner agencies, they spoke to board members, leadership, staff, volunteers and the individuals served in each of these agencies. In total, the H.O.P.E. Collaborative engaged 135 people in their needs assessment process. The H.O.P.E. Collaborative subsequently created a report outlining their key findings.
The H.O.P.E. Collaborative found seven key findings emerged from their needs assessment process. 1.) Their agencies had varying degrees of welcoming environments. In order for survivors, however, to feel comfortable in disclosing domestic violence, abuse and the presence of a disability, they need a welcoming environment. 2.) Areas of needed improvement in accessibility for survivors with disabilities, including accessibility in the contexts of physical and programmatic environments, and with regards to transportation. 3.) Not all agencies were aware of safety mechanisms important for dealing with issues of domestic violence and abuse. 4.) Lack of awareness regarding what services were available for survivors with disabilities and how to access them. 5.) A gap in the comprehensive knowledge base for working specifically with survivors with disabilities. 6.) Lack of policies, procedures and protocols for responding to the specific needs of survivors with disabilities. 7.) A gap in the relationship with law enforcement and the judicial system for assisting survivors with disabilities. The H.O.P.E. Collaborative's Needs Assessment Report Executive Summary is available in both a PDF Version and a Text Version below.
Developing Their Plan for Change
Building upon the strengths of their organizations the H.O.P.E. Collaborative created a detailed plan to address the needs identified in their organizational assessment. The H.O.P.E. Collaborative has committed to six immediate initiatives to create change in their organizations, as well as to exploring several long term initiatives. 1.) Create accessible, responsive and welcoming environments in their domestic violence agencies. 2.) Create a responsive and welcoming environment in their disability agencies. 3.) Create policies and procedures that promote disclosures of violence and abuse and linkages to services. 4.) Create policies and protocols that promote requests for accommodations. 5.) Build/Enhance relationships and resources among staff of all Collaborative organizations. 6.) Explore issues of mandatory reporting and confidentiality. The H.O.P.E. Collaborative recognizes that there is an enormous amount of work to be done in Haywood County before they can achieve their vision, however, they believe that the initiatives they have chosen to work on will build a foundation for their future work together by improving services for survivors with disabilities and increasing accountability for both domestic violence and disability service providers.
Enhancing Organizational Capacity
The H.O.P.E. Collaborative is currently in the process of implementing changes to enhance each of their direct service partner agencies' capacity to serve survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors. This section will contain links to the promising practices they are creating. Please check back periodically for new information.
Contact Information
30th Judicial Alliance
Denise Coleman
828-452-2122 (v)
coleman@30thalliance.org
Sue Fowler
828-452-2122 (v)
fowler@30thalliance.org
