Preventing Family Violence: Lessons from the Community Engagement Initiative

• NCJ Number: 208190
• Author(s): Kelly Mitchell-Clark; Angela Autry
• Date Published: October 2004
• Length: 52 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Corporate Author: Family Violence Prevention Fund
• Sale Source: Family Violence Prevention Fund
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Handbook
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded December 22, 2004.

Annotation

This handbook provides lessons about community level organizing and advice on initiating or expanding family violence prevention work.

Abstract

Engaging community members is fundamental to creating effective and lasting social change. Community members are on the forefront of the fight against domestic violence; most victims first reach out to family, friends, or neighbors for help. Groups involved in the Community Engagement for Change Initiative foster community ownership of the problem of domestic violence in their approaches to preventing and reducing family violence. The groups’ experiences are detailed in this handbook. Following the introduction, the second section focuses on developing a community engagement plan that takes into account the community to be engaged, the local organizational capacity, and the community’s needs. Tips are offered for developing community connections and for building strong relationships. The next section discusses specific strategies for effectively engaging community members in the prevention of family violence. Broadly, the specific strategies presented fall under the domains of raising awareness of the problem and working toward social change, building networks among community leaders, connecting community members to services, making services accountable to community needs, and changing the social and community conditions that facilitate family violence. The following section focuses on funding local community engagement projects; funding support can be sought from local fundraising efforts, foundations, public funders, and fellowships. Tips are offered for making the most of funding options. The next section provides advice on evaluating the local community engagement project and includes tips concerning how to plan the evaluation process and how to gather information and document work. A resource directory is provided for additional community engagement assistance. Appendixes include research tips for advocates, tips on working with the media, and community engagement project samples. Appendixes