Wow! DCADV has been busy! 💜💜💜

Dear Friends and Advocates,

2024 has been a busy year! DCADV celebrated its 30th year anniversary at the Purple Ribbon Event (PRE)! The guest speaker, Carol Post, DCADV’s founding ED, highlighted the work the Coalition has engaged in over the years.

This past year we also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Women of Color Task Force! These dedicated women work tirelessly to raise awareness of domestic violence. We are so grateful to Carolyn Morgan, the Chair of the WOCTF, and all the task force members for their commitment!

Throughout the year we engaged in advocacy for victims’ rights and safety and importantly, for more funding for DV services, we provided in-person and online training for DV advocates, we partnered with member programs to implement primary prevention strategies, and we advanced health equity and safety through the statewide DV-Community Health Worker program. All this work is anchored in the dedication of the staff, board and our community partners!

As a Coalition we are so grateful for our member programs including the Community Legal Aid Society, Inc (CLASI), the Delaware Center for Justice, People’s Place, CHILD, Inc., and the YWCA Delaware for all their work in providing essential services to domestic violence victims.

DCADV also continues to implement our racial equity plan. We completed a comprehensive project that updated the agency HR policies using a racial, equity and inclusion lens. Throughout the year, staff engaged in dialogue and training to foster our individual and shared understanding of the importance of racial equity in addressing violence.

As we wrap up 2024, we are very mindful of the work ahead! 2025 will include a new set of challenges, but we remain hopeful because we know that we are doing essential work, the work of goodness, the work of peace.

Wishing you joyful holidays and a good new year!

Peace,

Sue Ryan

Purple Ribbon 2024 was AWESOME! Check out the photos by Vera LaMarche. Thank you again to all who joined us to celebrate our 30th anniversary and 2024 award winners!

Save the Date for an Upcoming Webinar: March 12, 2024 at 1:00 p.m.

Moving Up – Practical Tips for Aspiring Leaders

Presenters: Nancy Castellanos, Program Director, Abriendo Puertas at People’s Place; Cierra Hall-Hipkins, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Network Connect; Sue Ryan, Executive Director, Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Thinking of moving up inside your agency? Wondering how you can become a Program Director or an Executive Director or a Community Leader? This webinar provides some practical tips and advice from current program and agency leaders for nonprofit staff who are interested in learning more about how they can move up to a leadership position. Recognizing the importance of building diversity in leadership positions, the webinar shares stories from agency and community leaders, including women of color, to encourage others to become the leaders they aspire to be.

Look for registration info in the new year!

Domestic Violence 101: March 5-6, 2025

Are you new to the field of domestic violence services or just want to learn more about how to help? DV101 is a two-day training that serves as an introduction to the dynamics of domestic violence, the core values of advocacy, and the services available to victims and survivors.

Registration fees:

DCADV member organizations, individual supporting members, and Delaware Certified DV Specialists: $70

Nonmembers: $90

Look for registration info in the new year!

Learn more!

Advocates’ Retreat and Conference: Call for Workshop Proposals

DCADV is seeking workshop proposals for our 24th Advocates’ Retreat and Conference! We recognize that working in this field can feel like we’re on the never-ending path to create change that we’ll never see. It’s work that can consist of equal parts hope, optimism, frustration, and exhaustion. Through this year’s conference “Forging Ahead: Our Map to a World Without Violence,” we hope to channel our collective power and make things happen!

We’re looking for workshops that:

Are interactive, learner-centered, and incorporate adult learning principles;

Enhance attendees' skills in collaboration, advocacy, and programming;

Focus on providing inclusive services; and

Align with the conference theme.

Proposals will be accepted through January 12, 2025!

Tell me about the retreat!

January Webinar Series: Intimate Partner Violence and the Social Determinants of Health- What’s the Connection?

DCADV envisions a First State where safe, healthy, equitable relationships, families and communities thrive. For years, we have partnered with likeminded individuals and organizations who are working to prevent violence and get to the root causes of harm so that we can achieve this vision of a safer Delaware. Research and experience show us that domestic violence is linked to other harms and inequities created by social and structural conditions in our society. Join us for a training series that explores the Social Determinants of Health- the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks- and identifies how addressing these conditions helps to prevent domestic violence and creates a safer world for all.

Each Fall, DCADV is tasked with reporting progress on our DELTA-AHEAD Collaboration to the CDC in an Annual Progress Report (APR). This November marked our second APR, reporting on the conclusion of Year 1 and our progress through Year 2. Throughout this year, our collaborative partners at CHILD, Inc. and People’s Place have made great strides in engaging their communities, addressing health disparities, and working to prevent Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Read all about it at the link below!

DELTA APR2 Wrap Up and Celebration!

DV- Community Health Advocates are available to help here in Delaware. EVERYONE deserves a safe and healthy relationship. Please call if you or someone you know is in a dangerous or abusive relationship.

New Castle County: 302-757-2137

Kent/Sussex Counties: 302-422-8058

Learn more about
DV-Community Health Advocates!

This NRCDV graphic was created in collaboration with DELTA IMPACT grantees. Sue and Joe from DCADV helped review it. It highlights the importance of Health Equity and DV intervention and prevention.

What if we could make sure everyone knows about domestic violence services in Delaware?

What if we could provide training to folks across the state?

What if we could be a voice for those who need support?

What if we could prevent and end domestic violence?

We can… with your support.

Your membership will provide essential funds that the Coalition uses throughout the year to support outreach, training, advocacy, and general operations. It ensures that the work we do reaches more victims and survivors, more advocates, more direct service providers, and more individual men and women working to end and prevent domestic violence in our community.

Will you join us as a member during our 30th Anniversary year? It’s an exciting time and we would love for you to be a part of it!

Join DCADV as a member

The Women of Color Task Force celebrated 25 years of service to the community through awareness, education, and advocacy this year. "Cultural Arts & Advocacy: Defeating Domestic Violence in Delaware's Communities of Color" was held in October and featured a dance from Pieces of a Dream, music, spoken word and a reading of To the Moon, a docudrama based on interviews with domestic violence survivors. What a wonderful day of celebrating this major milestone!

Learn more about the task forces!

Looking for a comprehensive overview of the Coalition's work? Take a look at our most recent annual impact report!

Janine Brown, the Aftercare Community Health Coordinator for YWCA Delaware’s Sexual Assault Response Center (SARC), has been awarded the prestigious 2024 Community Health Worker Champion Award from the Community Health Workers Association of Delaware.

Read all about it here!

Barbara Benezet, Advocate Extraordinaire in CHILD, Inc.'s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Program, received the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council's Outstanding Service Award for 2024 during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This is a well-deserved honor in recognition of Barbara’s many years – decades, in fact - of tireless advocacy on behalf of DV victims and her work with attorneys who assist our DVAP clients.

Lauren Hogstrom, who previously did an internship with DCADV through the University of Delaware, works to raise awareness of domestic violence and its connection to dental health care.

When asked how she goes about being an advocate in her current work she replied, “Between the Penn chapter of the American Student Dental Association and my research in the Oral Medicine department, I have been trying to make a small but necessary impact on my profession as it relates to IPV advocacy."

Her classmates shared, “Lauren has been instrumental in bringing a trauma-informed approach to the school and her work will benefit future students as well."

DCADV staff members have been out and about! Deianna and Ama attended the Community Health Worker Association Summit, Sue attended the FPVSA 40th Anniversary Celebration and Ama lead a training at Penn Dental Medicine.