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Alaska (multiple locations)
Project Name
Alaska Safety Planning and Empowerment Network (ASPEN)
Geographic Focus
Dillingham and Ketchikan, AK
Project Partners
Access Alaska
(http://www.accessalaska.org)
Alaska Native Justice Center
(http://www.anjc.org/)
Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
(http://www.andvsa.org/)
Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education
(http://www.hhs.state.ak.us/gcdse/)
University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Human Development
(http://www.alaskachd.org)
Overview
The Alaska Safety Planning and Empowerment Network (ASPEN) is a collaborative comprised of five organizations from the domestic violence/sexual assault advocacy movement and the disability services sector. The collaboration partners include an independent living center, a Native American advocacy center, the state coalition against domestic and sexual violence, a university center on disabilities, and a governor appointed council composed of people with disabilities, their families, and disability service providers. The collaboration is committed individually and collectively to be change agents at the system, community, and organizational levels to strengthen support for survivors with disabilities.
The ASPEN team formally came together in 2004 when they received an Office on Violence Against Women Education & Technical Assistance grant to End Violence Against Women with Disabilities. Under that grant project, they provided training and education to communities across Alaska. Though that grant ended in 2006, the team continued to meet regularly and provide support to communities across Alaska engaged in efforts to improve services for survivors with disabilities. In 2007, the collaboration received another grant from the Office on Violence Against Women’s Disability Grant Program.
The vision of the Alaska Safety Planning and Empowerment Network (ASPEN) is that survivors with disabilities will encounter a system where they feel empowered, can tell their stories, be believed without judgment, and receive appropriate services that are attitudinally, physically, culturally, and programmatically accessible.
The mission of the Alaska Safety Planning and Empowerment Network (ASPEN) is to build capacity of the service delivery systems (e.g., disability, victim advocacy, and others) by creating systems change designed to enhance the provision of collaborative, effective person-centered services for survivors with disabilities. ASPEN will strengthen response to survivors with disabilities by:
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identifying and resolving barriers (e.g. attitudinal, physical, cultural, and programmatic) to safety, empowerment and access to appropriate, non-judgmental services provided by both the disability and DVSA systems;
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fostering local collaborations to link survivors with disabilities to services and resources;
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providing cross-training, technical assistance, and information that changes organizational cultures and practices; and
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developing sustainable, innovative policies and practices designed to prioritize safety, empowerment and access.
The OVW Disability Grant Program provides ASPEN with the opportunity to work intensively with a few communities within the state to accomplish their mission. The Alaska collaboration decided that the focus of their work within these communities would be cross-disability and cross-violence against women. Additionally, they developed a set of criteria to assist in their selection of the communities in which they would work. Some of the elements taken into account included community services being available from both domestic violence/sexual assault and disability service sectors and communities with significant Alaska Native population reflective of the disproportionate level of violence and disabilities experienced by Alaska Natives. Ultimately, the Alaska collaboration decided to foster a collaboration with disability service agencies and violence against women service providers in Dillingham and Ketchikan, AK.
In order to effectively improve services and create change in their own organizations and within their selected community partners, the Alaska collaboration is taking part in a planning and development process that includes activities to: strengthen their collaboration, identify their focus, learn about the needs within their selected communities, and develop a concrete plan for addressing those needs. The Alaska collaboration is currently in the process of identifying the needs within their selected communities and will subsequently develop a strategic plan for supporting change in these communities. As their work evolves, so will the information contained in this section.
Planning For Change
This section contains files that document ASPEN'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, the Alaska collaboration 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. ASPEN's collaboration charter is available in both a PDF Version and a Text Version below.
Next Steps
ASPEN is in the process of formulating a detailed plan for determining the needs within their selected communities. Working with their community partners, the team will complete an in-depth needs assessment process to determine the needs of survivors with disabilities within agencies in their selected communities. Upon completion of their needs assessment, the Alaska 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
RainStorm Concepts
Richard Rainery
907-242-3235 (v)
rrainery@gmail.com
Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Patti Bland
907-586-3650 (v)
pbland@andvsa.org
