Family Violence Initiative

COMPENDIUM OF PROMISING PRACTICES TO REDUCE VIOLENCE AND INCREASE SAFETY OF ABORIGINAL WOMEN IN CANADA

HISTORICAL LEGACY

Healing and Renewal of Family Roles and Responsibilities

Program Name:

Respectful Relationships

Organization/Community:

Whe-la-la-U Area Council

Location:

Alert Bay, British Columbia

Website:

N/A

Goals and Objectives:

To prevent domestic violence through education on traditional family roles and views of familial relationships.

Target Group Description:

Women/Men in a relationship

Program Description:

The curriculum and material of the program is adapted according to the Traditional ways of the community. The clients voluntarily come into the program to work on issues and to help improve relationships with their spouses. Staff teach clientele strategies that they can use to overcome violent and abusive behaviours. There is a strong focus involving the extended families supporting parents in the program by taking the children and helping out in times of need. Through this the community accepts responsibility to address child protection issues with or without involvement of outside social service organizations. Community solutions come from consensus and working together so that everyone supports each other.

Program Successes/Impact:

Program Administrators took the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General's training and were able to tailor it to suit community's specific needs.

Key Lessons/Challenges:

Initial difficulty of garnering community support for program.

Program in operation since:

2009.

Program:

Ongoing.