Close to Home community leader network

In accordance with what we have learned from residents, Close to Home believes that we need all community organizations to become stakeholders in domestic violence prevention work if we are going to create a healthy community. We are encouraging all community members –including family, friends, civic leaders, and organizational partners-- to come together and to support one another in staying safe and developing intervention and prevention solutions to domestic violence. By working together, we can replace the fear, shame, and stigma currently surrounding the issue of domestic violence with support, love, understanding, and hope, and action.

After learning about how domestic violence affects the lives of your colleagues, your constituents, and your community, there is much you can do as an organization to work towards preventing it.  The following are some ideas:

Join the Close to Home Stakeholders Coalition
The Close to Home Stakeholders Coalition was created in response to resident input that all community organizations, regardless of area of work, needed to play a role in domestic violence prevention.  Today, the Stakeholders Coalition consists of organizations such as health centers, shelters, police, courts, youth programs, sports leagues, community development corporations, and civic associations, who are coming together to learn more about domestic violence and develop effective intervention and prevention strategies in their organizations. 
 
Instill Domestic Violence Prevention as a Priority in Your Organization
As an organization, there are many things you can do to make sure you and your colleagues are safe and play a part in the effort. Some ideas to create an organizational culture in which domestic violence prevention is a priority include: holding staff trainings on what domestic violence is, how to provide support to those in violent situations, and how to screen constituents for abuse, developing institutional policies that recognize the impact of and have little tolerance for domestic violence and sexual assault, and working to decrease the shame and silence around the issue by passing out or posting domestic violence awareness materials consistently throughout the organization.

For more ideas on how your organization can become involved, please call Close to Home at 617.929.5151 or visit the following websites:

• The Family Violence Prevention Fund, www.endabuse.org  (Website contains an extensive section on employer roles to prevent domestic violence)

• Employers Against Domestic Violence, www.safeatworkcoalition.org

• Bring Domestic Violence Information to Your Constituents


You can become an organization that places a priority on domestic violence prevention by bringing information to your constituents consistently. Some ideas include screening constituents sensitively for abuse, and offering support to those who disclose, decreasing the same and stigma of the issue by offering domestic violence materials throughout your space, and providing trainings to your constituents on domestic violence prevention so that they themselves can join the growing network of community members who are playing a role in responding to and preventing domestic violence.

These are just some ideas on how you and your organization can play a role in domestic violence prevention. To discuss any of these ideas or to share new ones that you may have, please call Close to Home at 617.929.5151.