The Capacity Research Unit, based at University of British Columbia’s (UBC) School of Nursing, will receive $2,499,946 over seven years to implement and test a trauma and violence-informed outreach intervention for women and girls affected by violence. This project is of one of 17 projects awarded funding through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grant Program and includes collaborations with 14 service and academic organizations across three Canadian provinces, including United Way of Chatham-Kent.
“Violence continues to be a pressing problem for many women and girls in Canada,” said Dr. Vicky Bungay, UBC Professor and Director of the Capacity Research Unit. “And while there are many different services, there are still a lot of problems supporting women to connect with these services. Outreach is an effective way to engage with women and help them connect with services. Our model moves beyond traditional outreach to take a strengths-based approach. We work to build on women’s strengths in identifying and managing their needs in ways that prevent re-traumatization and instead, foster women’s capacities and independence in connecting with supports and services.”
The research involves scaling up and testing the effectiveness of an innovative outreach model with diverse groups of women and youth in different settings across Canada. The model was designed to engage with women who are most often absent from our current services in order to improve access to and receipt of supports and services.
“Too often priorities among diverse services are predetermined in isolation from one another,” said Dr. Bungay. “Women’s agency and rights to self-determine their priorities are often overlooked as we grapple to respond to systemic and interpersonal violence in our respective silos.”
The people and organizations involved in this project recognize that collaborative approaches are the most effective way to tackle these issues as no one entity has the responsibility for addressing violence or its devastating effects for women and girls’ well-being and their rights and freedoms.
“We know that women and girls experiencing violence is an #UNIGNORABLE issue here at home. As the largest non-governmental supporter of social services in our community, we’re dedicated to creating the opportunities people need to improve their lives and build a better future. Our work is fuelled by ground-breaking research and powerful partnerships, which allow us to identify gaps and responsibly mobilize volunteer and financial resources for the most direct impact: effecting positive and lasting change, right here where we all live, work and raise our families,” said Steve Pratt, Chief Executive Officer of United Way of Chatham-Kent.
“By working collaboratively, we can better engage with women in a way that fosters their agency, resiliency and capacity,” said Dr. Bungay.
Click here for the SSHRC funding announcement and a full list of the team. For more information, contact Vicky Bungay at vicky.bungay@ubc.ca.
