ABOUT ::: Alternatives to Family Violence
OVERVIEW
The mission of Alternatives to Family Violence is to provide H.O.P.E. – Help, Options, Protection and Empowerment – to those subjected to violence and oppression while promoting nonviolence as a social value.
Alternatives To Family Violence
Safehouse and Crisis Line Program
Alternatives’ Safehouse provides emergency shelter in a confidential location for women and children who are attempting to leave an abusive living situation and would otherwise be left homeless. The residence can house a total of 21 women and kids at a time and is staffed 24-hours a day 365 days a year. Immediate services for everyone include crisis intervention, physical safety, clothing and food. Counseling is available to all women and children in individual and group settings. Personalized support and advocacy is also provided and includes, but is not limited to, referrals for: community resources, medical and mental health care, education placement, job placement, housing, transportation, daycare and any other needs identified by women. Alternatives’ employs full time Spanish-speaking advocates who work with monolingual or bilingual clients. In addition to Safehouse services, advocates staff the only two 24 -hour crisis lines in Adams County.
2006 Safehouse Stats
- 327 women and 123 children received 4,618 nights of safe housing.
- Staff answered 4,315 calls on our 24-hour crisis line and provided immediate crisis intervention for 1,272 callers, counseling for 993 callers and information and referrals for 1,915 callers.
- Advocates helped 588 women and children find other safe shelter because no beds were available at our facility.
Community Outreach & Support Program
Our Women and Children's counselors provide traditional and innovative counseling and outreach to women and children who are or have been in violent relationships, but are not in need of immediate safe shelter. This program provides a full range of advocacy and counseling to both women and children, including art and music therapy. Voluntary and court ordered services are available for women in both English and Spanish. Alternatives provides these services at two locations, with one office at Hwy 36 & Pecos and one office in Brighton. Recognizing the intrinsic connection between community outreach and the willingness of people who have been abused to access services, this program places special focus on outreach to traditionally marginalized communities. Outreach activities include quarterly volunteer trainings, educational support groups in local schools, community education and support presentations for churches, community groups and local businesses, an internet chat room and specialized recreational programs such as “Popcorn, Women & Words: Film and Book Dialogue for Women”, a weekly Women’s Healing Circle. In addition to these services, Alternatives provides peer groups at the Adams County Jail for both perpetrators and victims.
2006 Community Outreach & Support Stats
- 472 women, adolescents, children and men received 2,679 hours of counseling.
- Alternatives staff made 57 presentations reaching 2,387 community members.
- 103 Volunteers provided 821 hours of support