Outreach Support Program
The Outreach Support Program provides both one on one and/or group support to folks who are currently experiencing intimate partner violence or have experienced intimate partner violence in the past. The Outreach Support Program provides clients both practical support, as well as psychoeducational supports. This involves:
- A variety of psychoeducational support groups and workshops
- Community connections and referrals
- Goal setting and the development of life skills
- Assistance in navigating a variety of government programs (IA, PWD, MCFD)
- Support bridging gaps in services
Outreach Program Group Descriptions:
Stepping Stones
This weekly in-person group supports folks who have experienced intimate partner violence within the past year.
Wednesday Group
This weekly group alternates between Zoom and in-person, and supports folks who are/have experienced intimate partner violence. The group runs as a drop in format.
Thursday Group
Thursday groups run for four weeks in a row, weekly in-person, at different times throughout the year. Group focuses on one of the following topics at a time: Boundaries, Healthy Communication, Healthy Relationships, and Strength and Self Care. Group is open to anyone who is/has experienced intimate partner violence.
Funding for these groups is provided by individual donors.
Turning the Tide: Creative Wellness for 50+
Turning the Tide is an 8-week, arts-based program, exploring stories, art, and inner worlds through art-making and information sharing. The focus is on empowerment, connection, and self-discovery through creative expression. All supplies are provided.
Funding for this group is provided by The Tony and Mignon Fenton Trust, the District of Oak Bay, Island Health and individual donors.
Stride: Active Living for 50+
STRIDE is an ongoing, community-based, drop-in wellness program for clients over the age of 50. Getting moving can be difficult on our own; gathering in community can make it joyful! This group aims to promote healthy aging, social connectedness, and mental wellness. STRIDE has historically involved a dynamic range of indoor and outdoor activities, including virtual and in-person yoga and stretching, indoor and outdoor exercise classes, walking, hiking, and more. Sessions are playful, chatty, and geared towards a range of abilities.
Stopping the Violence – Small Group Counselling
A weekly, 4-session, closed-group counselling program. Sessions alternate between evenings and daytime to maximize client access.
Funding for this group is provided by individual donors.
Strength: Resilience and Reflection for 50+
STRENGTH is a 10-week program designed to support clients over the age of 50 who are seeking to enhance their well-being, address social isolation, and nurture their mental and emotional resilience. Each week, participants explore group discussions, interactive workshops, and engaging activities, including talks by guests from different fields relating to health and wellness, embarking on a shared journey of self-discovery, personal growth, and joyful living!
Funding for this group is provided by Island Health and individual donors.
Healing Through the Arts Group
This ten-week arts program provides mixed media classes for Older Women survivors of partner abuse.
Funding for this group is provided by through fundraising and the generosity of individual donors.
Self-sufficiency and Assets Through Financial Education (S.A.F.E.)
S.A.F.E. is a unique financial literacy project designed to meet the specific needs of residents of the Third Stage Transitional Housing at Victoria Women’s Transition House. The project aims to help participants achieve residential stability, a sense of security and financial independence, and to encourage self-efficacy, goal setting and community involvement.
Funding for this group is provided by individual donors.
PEACE Program Group Counselling
This is an eight-week counselling group for children, designed to educate and help build skills around regulating emotions, identifying abuse, ensuring personal safety, communicating boundaries, and more. By exploring these concepts and teaching healthier patterns of relationship behavior, these fundamental skills effectively disrupt the cyclical patterns of violence that so many children and families experience.
PEACE Camps for Children
Summer and Spring break camps are for children and youth who have witnessed intimate partner violence and abuse at home. They have the opportunity to come together for activities, group counselling, adventure and support.
Funding for this group is provided by Peninsula Co-op, Victoria Harbourside Rotary, Victoria Foundation Vital Youth – Oak Bay High School Endowment Fund, Norgaard Foundation and individual donors.
SHINE: Girls Group Counselling
This group is a ten-week group counselling program that responds specifically to the needs of girls ages 10-13 who have witnessed abuse. Shine covers key themes such as confidence, trust, emotions, relationships, stress and coping, abuse, assertiveness and boundaries, body image and self-expression.
Funding for this group is provided by individual donors.
Boys Counselling Group
An eight-week boys group focused on exploring masculinity, with specific attention on building healthy relationship skills. Topics covered will include power dynamics, gendered violence, consent, rejection, accountability, and self-expression as a male-identifying individual. This group is open to male-identifying children aged 10-13 years (must meet program intake requirements).
Funding for this group is provided by individual donors.
