Our Work
Creating Accessible, Culturally Responsive, Trauma-Informed Services and Organizations
NCDVTMH offers a unique, integrated approach to creating accessible, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed (ACRTI) domestic and sexual violence (DSV) services and organizations. This healing-centered approach draws on myriad perspectives: the voices and experiences of survivors, advocates, and clinicians; the insights of social and political movements; and qualitative and quantitative research on the needs of survivors and the programs that serve them.
Initially developed as a way to bridge trauma-informed and advocacy perspectives, our integrated approach has evolved into a framework for holding many of the key elements of work in the DSV field: work that is grounded in advocacy perspectives, that incorporates an understanding of trauma and its effects, that creates accessible environments, that recognizes the centrality of culture, and that is committed to human rights and social justice.
Key Resources
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Creating Trauma-Informed Services and Organizations: An Integrated Approach
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Tools for Transformation: Becoming Accessible, Culturally Responsive, and Trauma-Informed Organizations
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Core Curriculum on Creating Accessible, Culturally Responsive, and Trauma-Informed Services: A Capacity Building Training for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Programs
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What is the Integrated Framework?
NCDVTMH’s signature framework is informed by key perspectives—overarching philosophies, shown on the outside ring of the framework—and core principles—commitments to guide our work with survivors, nestled in the inner circle. When woven together, these perspectives and principles provide an integrated approach for working with survivors and their families.
Each perspective offers an important dimension that informs how we conceptualize and do our work. All contribute to ensuring programs are welcoming, inclusive, and accessible.
Why an Integrated Approach?
The ACRTI framework provides a foundation for doing work that is inclusive and accessible, attuned to the range of people’s experiences, and relevant to the people and communities we serve. ACRTI is a healing-centered approach that goes beyond trauma-informed. It also lays the foundation for working in ways that are grounded in dignity, respect, and justice; that ensure physical and emotional safety; that honor people’s strengths and creativity; that foster resilience and healing; that attend to the well-being of staff, organizations, and communities; and that support activism and social change.
The goals of this approach are two-fold:
- Ensuring that programs are welcoming, inclusive, accessible, equitable, and meet survivors and their families where they are
- Supporting coalition and program leaders in creating services and organizations that reflect their intentions and values–including fostering an organizational culture that promotes learning and growing together and is attuned to the strengths and challenges of all staff
Applying an Integrated Approach: Tools for Transformation
A comprehensive guide to organizational reflection, assessment, change, and strategic planning, the Tools for Transformation series includes:
- The Integrated Framework: An introductory guide that illustrates the key components of DSV work and their interconnected nature
- Tools for Transformation: Becoming Accessible, Culturally Responsive, and Trauma-Informed Organizations — An Organizational Reflection Toolkit: Geared toward program leaders, this toolkit helps organizations that serve survivors of DSV and their children to become more ACRTI in their approach and services.
- Implementation Support Guides: Resources and strategies to support organizational change at the program level, these guides are ideal for program leaders and coalitions that support programs.