Outreach Services (Crisis situation) Kent Centre for the Prevention of Family Violence

1. Outreach Services(Crisis situation)Kent Centre for the Prevention of Family Violence Tracadie-Sheila, September 3, 2007 Provincial Partnerships in Action (PPA)

2. Maison Sérénité/ Serenity House

3. Outreach Services(Crisis situation) Importance of intervention with victims of marital violence within 24 to 48 hours Dangerousness Index, Barbara Hart (1988), summarized by Rudolf Rausch (2002) Hart, B., Safety for Women: Monitoring Batterers’ Programs. Harrisburg, PA, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1988.

4. Importance of intervention with victims of marital violence within 24 to 48 hours Crisis Confusion Loss Imbalance Normal reflex = a desire to regain balance Back to square one (before the crisis) Takes action / Resources Does not want to end relationship / Avoids filing a complaint Breaks the cycle of violence

5. Our tools for providing service in a crisis • Wheel of Power and Control • Cycle of Violence • Dangerousness Index

8. Dangerousness Index This tool helps establish reasonable doubt that the safety of a woman and her children is in jeopardy. Source: Hart, B., Safety for Women: Monitoring Batterers’ Programs. Harrisburg, PA, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1988.

9. Dangerousness Index, Barbara Hart (1988) • Threat of murder or suicide: extreme danger • Fantasies of murder or suicide • Access to weapons • Obsession with one’s partner • Isolation of the aggressor and centralization of the victim • Rage • Depression • Drugs and/or alcohol • History of violent crime • Access to the abused woman • Recent separation (Peter Jaffe)

10. N.B.: The absence of risk factors does not guarantee safety. Certain factors are serious on their own; the more risk factors present, the higher the level of danger.

11. Importance of the community’s cooperation and partnership • Allows for better mobilization and makes it possible to improve the safety of female victims of marital violence and their children.

12. CRISISSITUATION INTERVENTION MODEL Family violence victim in Kent County RCMP Physicians Hospital ER Mental Health Centre Professional offers the victim the crisis counselling services of the KCPFV crisis intervenor If the victim accepts the offer, the professional contacts the crisis intervenor by pager or phone. If the vicitm does not wish to receive services, the professional gives her some promotional material. The crisis intervenor (outreach worker)meets with the victim at the KCPFV, at one of the four partner organizations, or at one of the nine satellite offices. After crisis counselling, the victim is referred to the long-term counsellor at the KCPFV or at another appropriate service. If the victim refuses any form of follow-up, the counsellor gives her some promotional material.

13. Aid to Safety Assessment & Planning (ASAP)

14. Why ASAP? • Safety Assessment: • Assess the possible risk to a victim’s safety • Safety Planning: • Determine what the victim intends to do to increase her safety and reduce risk

15. Concerted Intervention • ASAP is designed to help co-ordinate intervention with other organizations: • The police, the Crown, Correctional Services • It is based on tools to assess the risk of violence from an intimate partner: • Spousal Assault Risk Assessment (SARA), a set of guidelines used to assess the risk of marital violence - Probation • Short questionnaire to assess risk in the case of marital violence (B-SAFER) - RCMP

16. How to Incorporate ASAP? (according to the roundtable) Main objective • Increase the safety of victims of marital violence • Improve crisis situation services • Co-operate in order to serve the target population better • Confidentiality aspect? • Prevention Centre RCMP Probation • Assess risk and plan safety • Our partners • Discussion with the Acadian Peninsula

17. ASAP • Provincial 3 tools • Victims Aggressorscriminal records • RCMPProbation • Victim Services (Court) Same language, better co-operation A new tool

18. Three-Year Work Plan • Research information on the SARA, B-SAFER, and ASAP programs • Volunteer committee • Outreach Services statistics • Publicize the three different programs • Put the unified intervention model into practice • Evaluate the new model • Share the results

19. For presentations in English

20. Maison Sérénité/ Serenity House

23. Dangerousness Index, Barbara Hart (1988) Summarized by Rudolf Rausch (2002) • Threat of murder or suicide: extreme danger • Fantasies of murder or suicide • Access to weapons • Obsession with one’s partner • Isolation of the aggressor and centralization of the victim • Rage • Depression • Drugs and/or alcohol • History of violent crime • Access to the abused woman • Separation (Peter Jaffe) • N.B.: The absence of risk factors does not guarantee safety. Certain factors are serious on their own; the more risk factors present, the higher the level of danger. • Dangerousness Index • This tool helps establish reasonable doubt that the safety of a woman and her children is in jeopardy.