When most people hear about Family Violence Intervention services they think only of domestic violence. However, at JFS, our Family Violence program addresses a broader spectrum of challenges to include victims of family violence, domestic violence, trauma, and crime. This may include people in abusive situations and planning to leave, people in abusive situations and not planning to leave, or who have had a history of trauma but are just realizing how it is impacting their lives.
When a client is referred and goes through the intake process, they immediately undergo a safety assessment. 100% of Family Violence clients develop a safety plan for action should they not feel safe in their environment. Once the client is matched with a therapist, they work to develop a treatment plan with written goals depending on the client’s needs. These include not only physical safety, but emotional, financial, and relationship safety. 90% of adult and child clients achieve the 2 out of 3 treatment goals on their Individual Treatment Plan (ITP) within 180 days of starting counseling.
From July 2020 to March 2021, over 6,300 hours of counseling were provided to almost 1,200 Family Violence survivors. Survivors were also served through our Abuse Support Group for women who have been impacted by trauma. This psychotherapy group incorporates expressive arts and is facilitated by female therapists.
Our comprehensive approach for victims of trauma and family violence includes immediate crisis management, long-term trauma counseling for victims and their families (including play therapy for children who have experienced or witnessed abuse), and coordination of supportive services. JFS wraparound services allow each family to receive career and family employment coaching, financial coaching, food pantry, Resale Shop vouchers for clothes and household goods, limited emergency assistance, and when shelter is needed and desired, short term financial assistance for transitional housing or referrals to Genesis Women’s Shelter, Family Place, New Beginnings, and others.
Our Family Violence Intervention program acts as a virtual shelter- we do everything that a shelter does without the shelter environment. This is an important resource in the community, as 80% of people who report wanting to leave their abusers do not want to go to a shelter. Our clients have the opportunity to make changes without having to completely derail their lives.
Our model of intervention has proven that intergenerational Family Violence patterns can be halted. A full list of Family Violence Intervention services we provide can be found on our website www.jfsdallas.org.
To start services, call our intake line at 972-437-9950 x340.
If you are in immediate physical danger, please call 9-1-1.
Statistics taken from JFS Quarterly Reports.