One Year Later: Reflections on Sustaining Services for Survivors with Disabilities During COVID-19 (End Abuse Webinar)

The past year has brought unprecedented challenges and evolving landscapes for all of us. For those who were already underserved – such as survivors with disabilities – COVID-19 amplified the barriers that exist to have their healing and justice support needs met, and further increased their experiences of isolation. Providers have leveraged their creativity, flexibility and relationships to adapt and ensure that survivors with disabilities were able to sustain services during this difficult time.
Join us for this panel discussion, where participants will hear from providers on the strategies they used to sustain services to survivors with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists will also explore the enduring challenges survivors with disabilities face as this health crisis continues, and their hopes for the future.

A Conversation on Serving Deaf Survivors (End Abuse Webinar)

Deaf individuals in the U.S. experience rates of domestic and/or sexual violence equal to or higher than hearing individuals, with emerging research pointing to rates twice that of hearing individuals. From 911 systems that only take phone calls to victim service providers not providing American Sign Language interpreters, Deaf survivors routinely face barriers when reaching out for help. Through this conversation with Deaf advocates, you will gain insight into the experiences of Deaf survivors, get a better understanding of the barriers they encounter, and practical information on how to better meet the needs of Deaf survivors.

A Conversation on Serving Survivors with Disabilities (End Abuse Webinar)

Research has shown that people with disabilities experience increased risk of domestic and sexual violence compared to people without disabilities. They also experience unique challenges in receiving healing and support, everything from receiving outreach for services through participating in programming. This conversation will help you begin to understand the unique dynamics of sexual and domestic violence in the lives of people with disabilities and the barriers they face when seeking services. You will also receive practical guidance for making your services safer and more accessible for all!

Applying Trauma-Informed Care and Disability Justice to Working with Survivors of Sex Trafficking (End Abuse Webinar)

People with disabilities are more likely to experience sex trafficking than their peers. Traffickers deliberately target victims they think will be easily isolated and controlled, so conditions surrounding people with disabilities, including the fact that they are marginalized, devalued, and isolated, make people with disabilities more vulnerable to this type of abuse. A trauma-informed approach to supporting sex trafficking survivors with disabilities recognizes signs and symptoms of trauma, resists re-traumatizing survivors, and provides safe and accessible services and healing. This webinar will describe the importance of using a trauma-informed approach to supporting survivors of sex trafficking with disabilities and provide attendees with skills to more effectively support these survivors.

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SPOTLIGHT ON: Casa de Esperanza

Casa de Esperanza – National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities is the national institute on domestic violence focusing on Latin@ communities. As a leading, national Latin@ organization, Casa de Esperanza puts community at the center of everything we do. Founded in 1982 to provide emergency shelter for Latinas and other women and children experiencing domestic violence, today, we continue providing critical and innovative services and support in our Minnesota Twin Cities communities, ranging from family advocacy and shelter services to leadership development and community engagement opportunities for Latin@ youth, women and men, to informing the work of the National Latin@ Network to shape public policy, research, and best practices in the field.
 
The National Latin@ Network provides training and consultations to practitioners and activists throughout the US, as well as in Latin America. We engage in federal and state public policy advocacy and conduct research on issues that affect Latin@s in the US and abroad. We produce practical publications and tools for the field, disseminate relevant, up-to-date information and facilitate an online learning community that supports practitioners, policy makers and researchers who are working to end domestic violence.
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PROMISING PRACTICES: Ayuda’s Victim Services Interpreter Bank

Deaf woman communicating with another woman
On March 1, 2019, Ayuda, a legal, social, and language access provider in Washington D.C., who is also a subject-matter expert providing support on the National Resource Center for Reaching Victims, launched a Victim Services Interpreter Bank (VSIB) in Maryland with funding from the Maryland Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention. There are many limited-English proficient and Deaf/Hard of Hearing residents in Maryland who fall victim to sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, hate crimes, the death of a loved one due to homicide, and many other crimes. These individuals may need a forensic medical exam, therapy, counseling, safety planning, relocation assistance, and other vital services. Ayuda believes that a language barrier should not prevent these survivors from receiving compassionate and thorough assistance. 
 
VSIB is made up of victim-centered, trauma-informed interpreters who are potentially available 24 hours a day to assist in delivering required services. VSIB also arranges to have documents translated for victim service nonprofits when communicating with clients in writing in languages other than English. VSIB was created to help remove linguistic barriers so that the needs of LEP/Deaf crime victims could be effectively met. 
 
If you would like to know more about Ayuda’s work and model you can visit Ayuda’s website and Ayuda’s Language Access Program’s Facebook page. You can also contact Ayuda’s Language Access Program at InterpreterBank@Ayuda.com.