|
|
News, Upcoming Trainings, Other Resources
August 2023
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Summer Updates
Our summer started with the annual Colorado Advocacy in Action Conference and it's been busy ever since as we work to support advocates and their work across Colorado! Here's a look at what we've been up to:
Expanding
We’re hiring! In August we’ll welcome two new positions to the Violence Free Colorado team. The Economic Justice Training and Technical Assistance Specialist will build on the powerful work of our housing team over the last several years. This position will focus specifically on the financial needs of survivors and the ways that identity, access to cultural power, and economic inequality intersect and impact people experiencing domestic violence. The Bilingual Training and Technical Assistance Specialist will be a rare opportunity to focus on the work of bilingual advocacy. This role will focus on supporting bilingual advocates across the state. More importantly, they will focus on the ways that programs can support bilingual advocates and advocacy through recruitment, role clarity, equitable compensation, and employment policies and practices. We’re excited about the ways these two positions will expand our expertise as a teaching organization and our reach as a community of advocates.
| |
Learning
Our staff have spent this summer at conferences and trainings to connect with national partners and innovators. We’ve sought opportunities to learn more about culturally responsive services for survivors who identify as LGBTQIA2S+, for those who identify as Native and Indigenous, and those who identify as immigrants and refugees. We’ve spent time with experts on tech safety, culturally responsive leadership, financial empowerment, and economic justice. We know that our ability to stay connected to best practices, national trends, and innovation is the only way we can serve your local needs.
| |
Building Our Board & Board Culture
Our Board of Directors is thrilled to welcome four new directors: Jennifer Abbott from Advocates of Lake County (in April), Laila Benitez from San Miguel Resource Center and Jody Curl from Crisis Center (in June), and Nhu-Minh Le from The Colorado Health Foundation (in July). In June, Board Members met with Deb DeBare from the National Network to End Domestic Violence for a full day retreat and planning meeting. It was a special opportunity to be together in person with an expert on coalition work and coalition boards. It’s impossible not to feel the energy these new directors contribute to our work. They bring expertise in serving survivors in rural communities and communities of color, as well as years of experience leading direct-service programs in Colorado. We’re honored they have chosen to share their time and talent with us!
The rain and warmth of this summer have made it easy for us to look up and ahead – to imagine what we can grow and what will come next. It’s an exciting time here at your coalition and we want you to be involved in all of it! Reach out to me directly or to any of our staff members with your questions about our current training opportunities, requests for training or technical assistance, or just to connect.
Sincerely,
Roshan
| |
|
| Save the Date!
For the eighteenth consecutive year, the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) will conduct the DV Counts Survey: a one-day, unduplicated count of adults and children seeking domestic violence services in the United States. The data collected each year is instrumental in raising awareness about domestic violence and advocating for change to support survivors.
| |
 |
Katie Wolf
Public Policy Director and Lobbyist
|
|
Public Policy Team
2023 Session Report
Thank you to all who followed and engaged in our policy work this year! The legislative changes in support of domestic violence survivors that were accomplished this year would not have happened without your support and input.
| |
 |
Brandy Walega and Miranda Encina
Training and Technical Assistance Team
|
|
Training and TA Team
12 p.m. Aug. 8
Title: 2023 Violence Free Colorado Legislative Recap
Presenter: Katie Wolf (she, her)
Join our Public Policy Director and lobbyist Katie Wolf for highlights from the 2023 legislative session and learn more about new laws that will impact survivors. We'll discuss the three primary pieces of legislation that Violence Free Colorado led pertaining to survivor awareness and responsiveness training for judicial personnel, funding for DV and SA victim services, and hearing domestic violence cases in municipal courts. We'll also cover new laws related to guns, reproductive healthcare, child custody, and other issues that directly impact the lives of survivors. There will be time to ask questions as well, so whether you are deeply familiar with the legislature or just curious about our work at the Capitol, all are welcome!
| |
Upcoming Trainings
- Noon Sept. 12: Facts & Snacks Webinar: "Strategies for Coaching Survivors Interacting with the Media." Be on the lookout for more information about this training for advocates, presented by Lisa Winjum, Director of Development and Communications at NNEDV. Lisa will explore how advocates can support survivors who want to interact with the media, including how to talk with survivors about pros and cons, any risks, and motivations.
| |
 |
Lindsay Christopher & Liz Kurko
Housing and Economic Justice Team
|
|
Housing & EJ Team
Upcoming Housing Convening
We're excited to announce our September Housing Convening! This convening is geared toward programs in northwestern Colorado and surrounding areas. Does your program support survivors with housing and/or economic empowerment opportunities? Are you curious what this work looks like in other organizations in your region? If your answer is yes to one or both of these questions, then we encourage you to reach out to Lindsay, out Housing Program Manager, for additional information about this hybrid event. This is a two-day event, with one virtual and one in person day. It is the second of three regional convenings taking place in 2023-2024.
Monthly Housing and Flex Funding Call
Beginning in September, we're moving the Monthly Housing Calls to the first Wednesday of the month and will be combining this call with the current Monthly Flex Funding Advocate Support Group. This change will reduce duplicative meetings for community-based programs while continuing to build community and discuss challenges and successes that organizations face in their housing work alongside survivors. Advocates and survivors alike report safe, affordable housing as one of top priorities for survivors of domestic violence and their families. Low vacancy rates and high rental prices across the state, combined with navigating complex housing systems, various eligibility requirements, as well as stereotypes and discrimination that survivors face, can make housing and economic empowerment work challenging. These calls are a place where advocates and folks in leadership positions can learn from and support one another in their housing and financial empowerment work. Facilitators will accommodate ASL and interpretation needs as needed and requested. Register here or reach out to Lindsay with questions.
| |
The Public Policy Director manages our Public Policy Program to increase safety, support, and options for domestic violence survivors through policy and systems advocacy. Our goal is to develop and implement policy that centers the needs of the most marginalized survivors, works to dismantle oppressive systems, and includes strategies beyond the criminal-legal system. Does this sound like a role for you? Learn more and apply.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
