Community Awareness Program
Our Community Awareness program provides useful information and training for community groups and organizations. For example, we train health care providers to recognize the signs and symptoms of domestic violence and to talk with their patients about what may be happening to them at home.
We speak to church and civic groups, employers, public safety agencies and many others. We not only raise awareness and understanding of the issue, but also let community members know what they can do if they suspect an incidence of domestic violence within their own sphere of influence.
For more information on how to help with this program or to have someone present to your group, please contact the Community Awareness Program Coordinator.
Support
People stay in dangerous, violent relationships for a variety of reasons.
They may lack the economic means to live independently of their perpetrator or they may be vulnerable to emotional manipulation by them, or believe their perpetrator wields legal control over them.
Sometimes, a victim stays because she believe it is best for her children.
Whatever the reason, victims feel powerless to break the cycle of violence in their lives. Peace House support services are designed to empower a victim to leave an abusive situation and not return to it or enter into another that is equally abusive.
Breaking the Cycle of Violence
Understanding
For most victims, victimization is a pattern of behavior they must unlearn and replace with healthier behaviors. Peace House case workers help victims understand this, and realize abuse does not have to be a part of their lives.
Planning
Peace House case workers help clients develop a personalized plan for moving from where they are to where they want to be in their domestic life. Peace House provides many resources to help clients with this, including support groups, parenting classes, safety planning and domestic violence education.
Action
We connect victims with the resources they need to implement a personal plan. Resources may include government agencies and other nonprofits that can provide them with legal, medical, housing, transportation, financial and other services necessary for them to start their lives anew.
Peace House also helps clients navigate and access available government programs, like the courts, police, social services, workforce services, housing agencies and others. Without Peace House, many victims seeking a way out of the cycle of violence would lack the knowledge and confidence to take advantage of resources available in the community to help them.
Safe Haven
Peace House provides a safe haven for women and their children when they have no other viable option to escape domestic violence. The shelter provides temporary safe housing for families while they acquire the skills and resources necessary to start their lives anew, free from violence and fear.
We try to make it as easy as possible for women to leave an unsafe home environment. Our goal is to help these families continue their lives with the least amount of disruption possible while they stabilize their lives within the safety of the shelter.
While at the shelter, the families are provided all of their immediate needs. The children go to school and we assist with arranging temporary shelter for family pets through Summit County Friends of Animals, when necessary. Additionally, shelter residents receive the full range of support services provided to any client of Peace House, whether or not they are residents of the shelter.
A typical stay for a family at the shelter is about 23 days; some stay longer, some leave earlier. About 92% of those women leaving the shelter are able to achieve emotional and economic independence from their perpetrator and begin their lives anew.
The shelter was built in 1995 at an undisclosed location in a Park City residential neighborhood to help ensure the safety and confidentiality of the families it houses. It is a state-licensed facility with licensed social workers and trained shelter advocates on site 24/7. It can accommodate up to 15 people (a combination of women and their children) in 5 private rooms, each with a different sleeping configuration.
In fiscal year 2011-12, 76 women and 63 children found a safe haven at the Peace House shelter with a total of 1,998 shelter nights. We have served 50% more people than the prior year.
Community Awareness Program
Our Community Awareness program provides useful information and training for community groups and organizations. For example, we train health care providers to recognize the signs and symptoms of domestic violence and to talk with their patients about what may be happening to them at home.
We speak to church and civic groups, employers, public safety agencies and many others. We not only raise awareness and understanding of the issue, but also let community members know what they can do if they suspect an incidence of domestic violence within their own sphere of influence.
For more information on how to help with this program or to have someone present to your group, please contact the Community Awareness Program Coordinator.
Schools Program
Our Schools Program delivers age-appropriate training in the classroom for grades K thru 12. Our curriculum includes Child Abuse Prevention, Internet Safety, Dating Violence and Domestic Violence Awareness; it is based on materials developed by Prevent Child Abuse Utah, approved by the State Office of Education.
For more information on how to help with this program or bring it into your school, please contact our Schools Program Supervisor.
Services
Without effective resources to deal with it, domestic violence can rip the social fabric of the community in addition to causing irreparable harm to its victims. The services Peace House provides are designed to address the causes and effects of domestic violence in the communities we serve.
