Overview
This document is the strategic plan framework to guide the development of a dynamic, collaborative, trauma-informed, hope-centered Family Navigational Center in the Tri-County. The center would be modeled by the Family Justice Center framework to bring services together for victims of trauma and abuse – allowing victims and their children to go to one place for all their services and creating a community for survivors long after the crisis is over. Palmetto Hope Network was contacted by the Charleston Police Department in 2021 to assist in the community assessment and development process for the creation of a Family Justice Center-inspired framework for Charleston County. The process culminated in a strategic planning session and this report.
Palmetto Hope Network is a leading social change organization in the Tri-County focused on creating innovative, collaborative, trauma-informed approaches to meeting the needs of survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and their children. Palmetto Hope Network serves survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and their children each year in the Tri-County.
The mission of Palmetto Hope Network is to create pathways to hope for women, children, and men who are victims of domestic violence and related sexual assault through collaborative, integrated multi-disciplinary centers, teams, and initiatives to break the generational cycle of violence and abuse in families across the Tri-County and throughout the state of South Carolina.
Palmetto Hope Network conducted focus groups with service providers and potential partner agencies, spent time in court observation, facilitated a focus group with survivors, met with individual key community agencies and leaders, met with Charleston Police Department command staff, and de-briefed our interactions throughout the community with the project coordination team.
This report also described the impact of children witnessing domestic violence and the need to intervene early. It described the complexities of the criminal and civil justice systems and how it makes it difficult for victims to seek help, often causing victims to become frustrated, stop seeking help and unintentionally makes it easier for victims to return to their abusers rather than navigating the system. The report estimated the hidden costs of family violence in Charleston County at between $2.6 million and $10.4 million per year. (See Charleston County Family Justice Center Prospectus,). The Prospectus is an excellent document that makes the business case for the Center.
During Our facilitated focus group with survivors in the Tri-County, We met with survivors who had experienced the criminal justice system and the benefits of working with victim’s advocates. Quickly, themes emerged:
• Victims were fearful of systems.
• They did not understand the process and needed help navigating it.
• Once they got to the right person or place, they felt helped and supported.
• Many survivors described how helpful it was to have an advocate assigned to help them but worried about what happens to other victims who don’t report and therefore don’t get an advocate.
• While they appreciated brochures, they also expressed that at a time of crisis they don’t want to be given brochures, they needed “people to be the brochure.”
• The courthouse was the scariest place to seek help. All the continuances in their cases made the process even more difficult.
• Shelters in the Tri-County were the safest place they went for help.
• It was a challenge to go from place to place. They often needed to cancel appointments. Some described having to go to 15-20 places to see different professionals and get different services. They described the challenge to be at certain locations at a certain time and the negative impact if they didn’t get there early enough on a given day.
• They described having to tell their story repeatedly and the trauma it caused them.
• They unanimously endorsed the Family Justice Center model and they all wanted services to be in one place in the Tri-County.
Survivors also gave their input about a new location. The survivors shared they wanted to be at a safe, nice and, discreet location – “like a normal place to go” perhaps with other things going on there so stigma and shame are minimized.
Survivors wanted the Center to be warm and comfortable with vaulted ceilings and windows. “Please make the rooms bigger. You already feel violated. You want to feel like you can breathe.”
They requested bright, cheerful colors on the walls. “Avoid somber colors. They are very depressing and feel like jail.” “Please include soothing sounds, nice smells and, candles to help us feel comfortable.” They also wanted privacy. “It was difficult to speak at admitting. It is hard to say what is wrong right out in the open.
Victim-Centered
• Victim safety and security • Restorative justice – mediation/healing
• Access to immediate food and clothing • Photos of team/ supporters in the Center
• Collaboration and compassion • Technology for efficiency – collaboration
• Dignity, respect, sensitivity and love • Pets allowed
• Safe space for critical conversations providers and clients • High tech – computer room
• Engagement • seniors (older adults)
• Diverse and culturally appropriate support • Cultural compatibility
• LGBT community involvement • Cultural sensitivity
• Caregivers • Deaf/Hard of Hearing unit
• Veterans • FJC is hub of resilience/wellness that branches to the whole community
• Developmentally disabled individuals
• Evaluation
• Family pets welcome
Articulating Beliefs and Values
After creating a shared vision, the Strategic Planning Team articulated their shared beliefs and values to help ground and guide development and operation of the Center, as the entire community works toward achieving its Vision. The strongly held beliefs and values populated one of the large purple sticky walls in the room and became the largest, most comprehensive wall of values that the Alliance has ever seen created during a facilitated Family Justice Center planning process.
• Passion
• Strengthening families
• Being open to change – adaptability
• Accountability to all
• Inclusion
• Equity
• Treat everyone with dignity and respect
• Culturally sensitive
• Victim centered
• Family
• Change
• Hope
• Compassion
• Empowerment = strengths based and choice
• Respect
• Transparency
• Equality
• Respect
• Active listening
• Believing in our mission
• Meeting the survivor where they’re at
• Listening
• Person centered
• Courage adaptive compassion
• People helping people
• No fear
• Dignity
• Teamwork
• Hope is nurtured
• Strive for inclusiveness
• Do Good
• Growth
• Stewardship services
• Approachability
• Serve with compassion
• Every person has value
• Victims are treasures to be shared
• Respect
• Sensitivity
• Culture awareness
• Victim-driven
• Introspective what works and what’s not
• Client focused
• Equality collaboration cooperation
• Integrity
• Humility
• Diversity of experience and thought
• Intersectionality justice
• Dignity respect empathy
• Language
• Empowerment through choice
• Keep an open mind
• Belief in positive potential
• Victim directed services
• Future of children and hope for better life
• Give back power and control
• Confidentiality
• Advocacy
• Safety and security
• We earn the right to be heard
• Evidence based
• Culturally inclusive
• Accountability
• Understanding
• Perseverance
• Compassion
• Passion
• Respect
• Service to others
• Titles don’t matter
• Trauma informed
• Safe work environment
• Accepting diversity
• Trust
• Empowered
• Service consistency
• Innovative and optimistic
• Open-minded (inclusion)
• Respect to different cultures
• Leave egos at the door
• Mutual respect
• Collaborative not hierarchical
• Non-judgmental
• Transparency
• Hope
• No politics
• Ability to grow and let others grow
• Flexibility
• Accountability follow through
• Everyone matters
• Equality
• Ethical
• Equity
• Beginning where victim is
• Accessibility
• Empowering
• Effectiveness
• Client driven not program driven
• Justice
• Commitment to the vision
• Leave your ego at the door
• Client driven
• No power of suggestion
• Think outside the box
• Togetherness
• Be spiritual (not religious) without judgment
• Transparency
• Victim centered
• Integrity
• Humility
• Accepting of criticism
• Honest and open feedback
• Honesty
• Shared purpose
• Customer safety
• Active listening
• Cultural competency
• Radical transparency
• Acceptance of transparency
• Promoting culture of resilience
• Value the individual
• Perpetrators will be held accountable
• Feel free from violence and intimidation
• Every victim can be helped
• Loyalty
• Empathy
• Cooperation
• 360 view-perspective
• Commitment
• Center’s ability to adapt and evolve
• Willing to collaborate outside the box
Values (what we believe)
The Alliance framed the values and beliefs identified during the exercise into a belief statement for potential adoption by the Steering Committee as the planning process proceeds in Charleston County.
We Believe…
• Relationships are fundamental to working as a team; being inclusive, building trust and sharing power are critical to success.
• Everyone who interacts with the agency, whether client, partner or staff is important, deserves to be empowered, respected and not judged.
• Services and operations should be survivor-driven and promote self-determination, compassion, empathy, and tolerance.
• Awareness and prevention are critical to ending the cycle of violence in our community.
Vision (what we see in the future)
The Tri-County Family Justice Center is a welcoming community that empowers and supports survivors through comprehensive, holistic services that focus on the whole person. Our collaborative, comprehensive approach creates a safe space where we use strength-based approaches to break the cycle of violence and create pathways to hope for survivors and their children.
Mission
Our mission is to integrate high quality, committed partners in a safe, collaborative Center with the resources to provide hope and healing to people impacted by violence and abuse.
Blocks and Barriers
The blocks and barriers identified by the group were all placed on flip charts and included: • Funding for building/staff • Bureaucracy • Different goals • Geography/transportation • No collective agreement • Community buy-in • Lack of commitment • Lack of public/victim trust • Public/victim Fear • Money • Egos • Politics • Vision (united) • Unclear leadership • Broken trust • Conflicting goals/priorities • Complacent • Broken trust from partners • Money/resources • Competing agencies • Sense of complacency • Sense of equality between partners | • Lacking champions for cause • Not having stakeholder buy-in • Domestic violence costs vs funding • Initiative fatigue • NIMBY • Separate data systems • Confidentiality restrictions • Status quo is “working” • Not being strategic in response • Responsive not proactive • No common goal/vision • Competition for funding • County jurisdiction issues • No county map/overview of social/justice issues • Appointing right leadership • Courage to confront the deficits • Geography/ limited public transportation • Service discoordination • Language services other than English • Not asking victims to lead us (pride) • Distrust |
• Different approaches to providing services causing silos • Geography – siloed cities • “That’s x’s problem, not ours.” • Misinformation on who needs services • Cultural barriers – immigration status • Geographic location • Transportation • Interagency cooperation • Leadership • Competition • Priority • Value/understanding • Jurisdiction • Language • Acceptance/rejection • People not coming to centers because of lack of knowledge or fear • Separated systems serving different victims/families • Writing/reading abilities • Stigma and prejudice • “Good ole boys” network and entitlement • Transparency • Burn out • Proper and specific definition of the problem(s) • Needs assessment • Data analytics • Plan and money • Victim trust • Discover obligations • HIPPA • Liability • Fear of duplication of service | • Policy trends • Different values • Sustainability • Rules and regulations • Duplication • Staying in the comfort zone • Difference in philosophy • Fear of losing control • Competing interests • Community buy in and awareness • Ego conflicts vs FJC culture • Risk vs reward • Differing viewpoints/approaches • Lack of trust in each other • Ineffective leadership • Limited marketing • Strategic planning • Need for universal consent/ data sharing • Scope of services/projects • Anger • Competition- against one another – one upping • “Not my responsibility” • Lack of personnel/staff • Religious beliefs conflict • Cultural conflicts misunderstanding • Community push back • Lack of empathy • No awareness/compassion • Turf wars • Generational gaps • Gut agencies staffing • Commitment to the vision • Apathy • Results driven (too focused) • Emotional conflict |
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