DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & MENTAL HEALTH COLLABORATION PROJECT


The mission of the Domestic Violence and Mental Health Collaboration Project is…

What:	 	to facilitate sustainable systems change
Where:	within and among the participating organizations
Why:		to better meet the mental health, safety and self-determination needs of
Who:		survivors of domestic violence who have been traumatized or whose 
		existing mental health problems have been exacerbated by domestic 
		violence.
How:		The participating organizations will strive to make services more 
		accessible, holistic, and integrated, to work more collaboratively together, 
      and to effectively utilize reciprocal consultation.

The Participating Organizations





NEEDS & STRENGTHS ASSESSMENT FINDINGS

We asked “Who can get in?” & found strengths & challenges regarding:

Capacity - Demands are so high that it is extremely challenging to address the complex needs of domestic violence survivors with mental health concerns.   Funders enable providers to offer services, but some of their policies can inadvertently act as barriers to meeting survivors’ needs.

Accessibility - Each partner organization is strong in particular areas of accessibility, but has room for improvement in others. The lack of accessible, welcoming services in the community at large makes it much harder for service recipients to get their needs met, and puts more strain on the service providers who will help them.  The environment in which services are provided makes a difference.

Screening - A “one size fits all” approach to screening works for some, but does not work well for many.
We asked “Do needs get met?” & found strengths & challenges regarding:

					    Services & Referrals
      		Service recipients want integrated, quality services 
      				that support them as a whole person.  Referrals 
           Needs		        need improvement & services need to be strengthened. 
                  Met
                    Collaboration
		                    Philosophical differences, trust & bias concerns, 
confusion about roles, and confidentiality and capacity issues can be barriers to collaboration between domestic violence & mental health service providers.



We asked “How can we do better?” & found:

We can do better by piecing together our strengths, knowledge, good communication, and readiness for change.


Partner organizations each have valuable expertise and strengths that could benefit the other partner organizations.




Service providers need more training, more consultation, and 
better policies in order to improve services for survivors 
of domestic violence with mental health concerns.



There are times when communication works very well, however, we
found communication limitations within organizations and between organizations that negatively impact both service providers and service recipients, 



      Organizational leadership
      is ready for change.
.


STRATEGIC PLAN
In response to the needs and strengths assessment findings, the participating organizations are implementing 4 initiatives to sustainably improve services for survivors of domestic violence with mental health concerns.  The initiatives are:


      
         

      
         

         
         

 	

































For more information contact Alison Iser, Project Coordinator at Alison@kccadv.org or at 206.568.5454.
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