LA VIDA Partnership
LA VIDA is a domestic violence prevention, support and education program initiated in 2000 in response to an increased demand for services for survivors of domestic violence and a lack of intimate partner violence services in the Southwest Detroit community. The program is a collaborative effort between CHASS Center and several other community agencies.
LA VIDA’s mission is to seek to ensure the availability, accessibility and utilization of a range of locally relevant, culturally competent family violence and sexual assault prevention and support services for Southwest Detroit Latino families and youth. Current services offered include safety planning and short term counseling for women, training and technical assistance for other agencies around cultural competency and domestic violence, support groups for survivors of intimate partner violence, counseling for teen survivors of dating violence and sexual assault or youth who have witnessed domestic violence, legal assistance and prevention programming targeting Southwest Detroit youth.
LA VIDA Successes
- Conducted local and national trainings on intimate partner violence within a community setting that resulted in increased capacity around domestic violence and an increase culturally competent services available to Latinas.
- Community outreach within Southwest Detroit to raise awareness about the important, but often stigmatized issue of domestic violence. As a result, community residents speak more openly about domestic violence and requests for presentations and information have more than tripled since the onset of the LA VIDA Partnership.
- In 2009, LA VIDA staff provided over 872 unduplicated client contacts to survivors of intimate partner violence and their children, as well as to the greater community through educational programs in the schools focused on healthy relationships, dating violence and sexual assault.
- LA VIDA also provides a range of free or low cost legal services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. A contracted attorney available through LA VIDA has provided low-cost, legal help to over 180 women and their families.
- LA VIDA staff have developed three culturally and linguistically appropriate curricula focused on intervention services and prevention services for youth:
- The Amigas program is a ten-week support group session for women, held in Spanish at local community centers, churches and Head Start Programs.
- The second curriculum developed is a ten-session program targeting teen girls on healthy relationships, self-esteem and dating violence.
- The final curriculum developed is part of the Male Initiative and focuses on educating young men about male responsibility and appropriate behavior in relationships.
School Based Program Initiatives
Elementary School Level
- The Respect Program is a school-based program for kindergarteners. Over its seven-session curriculum, the program teaches healthy touching for and by young people.
- Keeping Kids Safe is a two-session program on domestic violence done in schools and community settings for third graders.
Middle School Level
- The Healthy Relationships and Anti-Bullying Program is a school-based, mixed gender, six session program for middle school students.
- The art-based middle school program is a six-session program developed to target at risk girls around dating violence prevention and self-esteem building during their elective hour.