By rdnewsNOW Staff

Alberta Council of Women's Shelters

Red Deer agencies join project to help survivors of violence

Mar 2, 2022 | 12:58 PM

Red Deer is one of two communities participating in the “Blueprint Project”, aimed to provide survivors of violence with wrap-around support through accessible information sharing and a data collection app, an initiative by the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS).

Agencies in Red Deer and Grande Prairie have signed Information Sharing Agreements (ISAs) which enable them to work together to provide trauma-informed services to women and other users experiencing domestic violence and abuse.

“Many fatality inquiries and death review committee recommendations have called for better information sharing to save lives. This is one way of getting there,” said ACWS in a release.

The Central Alberta Outreach Society in Red Deer is just one of the 10 organizations that signed the agreement in the city. In Grande Prairie, 13 agencies have agreed to participate.

“For years we have heard from community agencies that the biggest barrier to coordinated services supporting survivors is information sharing. They described the lack of information sharing as the biggest boulder in their way. Today, pushing that big boulder aside, the information sharing agreement clears our path and allows us to be fully centered on the client’s needs in a truly collaborative service model” said Ian Wheeliker, CEO of the Central Alberta Outreach Society.

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With client consent, the agreements provide a way for agencies to collect and share a client’s personal information with each other—to the extent necessary for client support—allowing for a more coordinated and collaborative approach, so each agency can focus on providing them their specialized services.

A new data collection app is also being tested as part of the project aimed to shift from a system where a client would have to go between agencies that makes referrals based on their own systems, to one that brings services to the client and connects them with the supports they need.

“Referral based systems are not only repetitive and confusing, they often re-traumatize women who were seeking help. They were asked to tell their story over and over again to various agencies,” said ACWS Executive Director, Jan Reimer. “The information sharing agreements backed by the launch of the app and common assessment tools, supports a process that puts the survivor at the centre.”

Amber Chenard, Second Stage Client Support Worker at Odyssey House and the Lead for the Grande Prairie Community Working Group added, “It is amazing to see so many different agencies come together in our community with a common objective. This diverse network has allowed us to have diverse perspectives and gives me such hope in our community and the work we do.”

Officials say the Blueprint Project will continue over the next year, with the intention of developing a “blueprint” for assessment and ongoing case management, which will be shared with agencies across the province. The project is also developing Communities of Practice, which are agencies and individuals seeking education on how to improve interaction systems.

ACWS represents 40 sheltering organizations operating more than 50 emergency and second stage shelters for women, their children, and seniors fleeing violence and abuse. The ACWS provides professional development and training, action-based research and has the goal of increasing public awareness of issues related to family violence for the benefit of abused women and their children.