KCCADV is currently coordinating this pilot project with five partnering agencies:
- The City of Seattle Human Services Department’s Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Prevention Division
- Consejo Counseling and Referral Service
- New Beginnings
- Seattle Counseling Service
- Sound Mental Health
The goals of the project are to improve services for domestic violence survivors with mental health concerns and to strengthen collaboration between domestic violence advocates and mental health service providers. The project is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women’s Disabilities Grant Program and is currently limited to the agencies named above. There may be opportunities for other organizations to get involved in this work in the future.
The first phase of the Collaboration Project included a needs and strengths assessment. Staff, Management, Boards of Directors, and Service Recipients from the partner agencies that provide direct services (Consejo, New Beginnings, Seattle Counseling Service, and Sound Mental Health) participated.
Needs and Strengths Assessment Findings Report
The findings from the needs and strengths assessment informed the strategic planning for the Collaboration Project. Four initiatives were selected for implementation.
The Welcoming Environments Initiative Report summarizes the changes the partner agencies made to create more welcoming environments for domestic violence survivors with mental health concerns.
Welcoming Environments Initiative Report
To create more welcoming environments for survivors with mental health concerns who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgendered, each partner agency was given signs that say, “All are Welcome Here” in both English and Spanish. You can download these signs and print your own copies.
All are Welcome Here Poster – English
All are Welcome Here Poster – Spanish
The Project’s Collaboration Initiative included the creation of a liaison system between the direct service partner agencies and the development of a cross-disciplinary case review process. The Liaisons and Case Reviews Information Packet describes both.
Liaisons and Case Reviews Information Packet
We have seen wonderful changes as a result of the Domestic Violence and Mental Health Collaboration Project. The report below discusses our successes, challenges, and lessons learned during the first three years of our project. It also has information about our plans for 2011 and 2012.
