Services:
Adelante Familia
Adelante Familia serves Spanish-speaking immigrants living in central Maryland who are victims, or at risk of being victims, of domestic violence. Similarly, Adelante Familia also serves those who are perpetrators of domestic violence among this community. Since domestic violence is highly prevalent in the Latino immigrant community, Adelante Familia has designed services that work within clients’ cultural frameworks. On average, 10-15 new immigrant victims seek out services from Adelante Familia each month.
VICTIM SERVICES
This program offers comprehensive, community-based and women-centered advocacy services to Latino women affected by domestic violence in the Baltimore metropolitan area. The program offers bilingual client advocacy, crisis intervention, education, support and outreach services to both primary and secondary victims directly in their community. In addition, support groups and educational workshops focusing on increasing the awareness of domestic violence, increasing the understanding of the dynamics of abusive relationships, as well as understanding the rights of women suffering abuse are provided to victims and non-victims alike. The following list of comprehensive interventions and services are offered to all women entering the program:
Crisis Intervention
24 hour hotline response
Danger assessment
Safety planning
Referral to shelter services
Referral and support to obtain Interim Protective Orders
Case Management — Case management provided by our Bilingual Client Advocates is a central strategy of the program. Comprehensive case management and support services include:
Linkages to other community services and resources
Assistance in maneuvering through social service systems to ensure access to benefits such as food stamps, cash assistance and child support
Provision of translation services
Provision of transportation services
Regular follow-up phone contact
Referral to shelter options
Legal Advocacy and Rights Education — Adelante Familia provides legal advocacy and rights education, including:
Assistance with the filing of protection orders
Accompaniment of victims to courts and state’s attorney’s office
Education on victim’s legal rights
Support with the Victims of Crime assistance application
Education on civil and criminal proceedings and preparation of confident testimonies
Referral to free legal services for civil and immigration matters
Support to victims in obtaining necessary documentation, translation services and accompaniment during legal processes
Interpretation for legal processes
Safe Nights Program — Adelante Familia offers short-term, safe accommodations through our Hotel Voucher Program and rental/eviction prevention assistance to victims whose income has been severed.
Counseling Services
Las Platicas (Support Groups) — Adelante Familia offers five support groups which meet twice per month and provide a safe place for women to share, learn, connect, grow and heal. Those women who have been involved in domestic violence as well as those who want to learn more about intimate partner violence and resources available for victims. The sessions focus on:
Safety planning
Understanding individual rights and the dynamics of domestic violence
Accessing resources
Building support networks
Individual Counseling
Defensoras Comunitarias (Community Advocates) — This new women’s group is for those who have expressed a desire to share their message of anti-violence within their community. The Defensoras Comunitarias is Adelante Familia’s grassroots education and outreach project that trains clients to provide support to other women in the Spanish-speaking immigrant community using a curriculum that includes training on advocacy skills, peer-to-peer education, the criminal justice system and community organizing.
Adelante Niños (Children Activity Group) — This program was created in the fall of 2005 through a partnership with Towson University, Department of Psychology and commencement of research. A 16-session curriculum was developed and piloted between 2006 and 2007. Using the evaluation of that initial phase, the program has been implemented on a consistent basis.
The intention of this program is to provide children witnesses of domestic violence (secondary victims of domestic violence) with an environment that is both safe and enriching where they can learn skills that will improve the quality of their lives; help them feel better about themselves; learn to solve problems appropriately; and enhance skills needed in their every day lives through a structured child care program. The group meets twice per month, while the support group for women is being held.
ABUSER INTERVENTION PROGRAM
Si Puedo — This abuser intervention program meaning “Yes, I can live free from violence” follows the CECEVIM model and was created to work specifically with Latino batterers. Si Puedo is founded on the belief that battering is not an individual pathology, but rather a social phenomenon that is acted out in many immigrant families through behaviors learned by males through modeling and within a society where violence is a widely accepted technique for resolving conflicts and establishing control. The program works with Latino abusers for them to develop new behavior paradigms that are free of violence and “unlearn” these violent patterns of exercising power and control.
The Si Puedo program has been certified as an abuser intervention program by the Family Violence Council since 2004. Adelante Familia’s Si Puedo program is the only abuser intervention program in the Baltimore metropolitan area for Spanish-speaking batterers.
The goals of Si Puedo are:
To stop the cycle of violence by working with violent men to alter the cognitive, behavioral and emotional patterns of abuse within the context of their personal experiences and culture.
To teach participants to take responsibility for their use of verbal, emotional, psychological and physical violence toward their partners.
A 40-week curriculum of structured group sessions and community education presentations divided into two levels. Participants complete an intake and orientation and must pass a test to move from Level I into Level II. Participants must pass another test to graduate out of the program. Participants are referred to the program by the court system, social service agencies or participate voluntarily.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION
Domestic Violence Education — At Adelante Familia, we believe that information is power. To combat domestic violence, it is crucial to embrace a different mind set in which women and men share the responsibility of creating a safe environment for the family. This change requires a sustained effort of information and education in the community that will allow a change in attitudes, behaviors and, eventually, in community norms.
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