After speaking with Shelina Jeshani, Director of Programs for Catholic Family Services of Peel Dufferin, who are also the lead agency of the Safe Centre of Peel. We had the opportunity to learn about the comprehensive and important programs that this center offers to communities in Peel Region. The Safe Centre of Peel (SCoP) opened in 2011 as an integrated domestic violence hub “to strengthen community by providing single location services coordinated, responsive and accessible to those who have experienced violence”, stated Shelina. Having a robust history of working in this field, Shelina was a part of the initial conversations in 2008 to create a hub in Peel Region and worked on the needs assessment for the community, which included researching the Family Justice Centre models that were operational in the United States and globally. Shelina led the investigation and worked closely with the Steering Committee of Peel                                                                                                     services about what the needs of the communities were and how an integrated                                                                                               approach to DV issues would work in the region. She spoke with service providers                                                                                           and services users around their unique experiences in terms of navigating the                                                                                                 system and services, barriers that arose, and ways to combat challenges. Through                                                                                         these discussions, Shelina found that the services were not accessible enough to                                                                                           everyone, language was a consistent barrier to receiving services, the spaces were                                                                                         not child friendly and thus, could potentially re-traumatize both the children and                                                                                               their caregiver, and lack of financial stability and lack of information deterred                                                                                                   women from seeking services. After numerous discussions with the Steering                                                                                                     Committee, they mapped out approximately 18 different services that women may                                                                                           need while going through their VAW journey. Unfortunately, half of the services                                                                                                 were inaccessible to most women and re-traumatizing as women would have to                                                                                               repeat their story each time they approached a new agency/service. From the                                                                                                  recommendations, Safe Centre of Peel was created as a hub of 7 on-site                                                                                                         organizations and 8 off-site organizations that provide a hybrid of services such as: settlement support, parenting services, counselling, family court support, legal aid, crisis intervention, counseling and children’s aid services.  On top of the hub model, another recommendation that the Safe Centre of Peel implemented was the need for child friendly spaces and services. They created a child friendly area dedicated to children with child minding staff, counsellors specializing in children impacted by or who have experienced violence/trauma, child sized facilities, as well as resources for the caregiver to understand the impact of the violence on their child/children.

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                On the community engagement front, Shelina stated that they have participated in

the Peel Regional Police fundraiser initiative “Cram-a-Cruiser” which helps local non-profit

organizations collect non-perishable items for their clients. Safe Centre of Peel has

participated in this initiative over the last few years which “was a great opportunity to have

the community learn more about the Centre and to give back”.  

                After Shelina outlined the programs and services that Safe Centre of Peel has to

offer, she said she was most proud about their work on integration. Whether it’s the

integration of the child witness program, Helping End Abuse for Life (HEAL) – a

collaboration of 19 agencies working together on the impact witnessing abuse has on

children – or the integration of new service models to work with clients using a trauma

informed approach. The latter involves supporting clients to navigate the system and to

perform one intake and risk assessment tool that is universal amongst the partner

organizations in order to minimize the re-traumatization of having to retell one’s story over

and over again. Integrating a universal service delivery model was important to Shelina, as

she states, “Lives are not siloed, but our services are. With an integrated service hub, it’s

about breaking down those silos. Women coming to the Centre are trying to access services

for themselves and their families. They are coming forward and saying they are here. They

are struggling but don’t necessarily know what is available or accessible.”

                With her many years of experience in working with women and children, Shelina

says that one of the benefits of working with both groups together is the ability to create

programs that address their different experiences and needs. “When we work with

[women and children] together, we recognize that their experiences are different and the supports they need are different, but it brings more awareness to moms around some of the needs that children may have. Also, really relying on the fact that moms are the experts of their kids and what are the tools and strategies that we can give her to support her children.” This philosophy is presented through their programs, such as HEAL.

                Some of the challenges that Shelina brought up in regards to VAW work is the exclusion of men when they are the perpetrators of violence. The reality is that men also have different experiences of trauma and need a safe space to process what they have experienced and how they have used violence in their relationships. We need to use principles of compassion and accountability to engage men. The reality is that many women do remain with their partners who have used violence in their relationships and many children continue to have contact and access to their fathers.  SCoP will work with the victim of violence and the children to ensure that they are safe, have support and access to services/resources.  SCoP will refer men who have used violence in their relationships to partner agencies who are better able to provide services and support them in addressing their behavior. The importance of having feminism as a theoretical foundation of the work at Safe Centre of Peel was continuously highlighted through the work that Shelina does. She says that feminism is beginning to shift and that it has to when using an intersectional feminist lens: “We have to think about intersectionality in [the VAW sector] and it will continue to shift and evolve. At the Safe Centre, we try to understand all of these intersectionality’s to better deal with the impact that violence has had on the woman and her children, her access to resources and what supports would be the most helpful to her..” Partners at Safe Centre work from this framework while constantly looking at the client and their situation from a holistic perspective.  Intersectionality in the violence against women sector allows for understanding the complexity of the issue and how it plays out at an individual level.

             Shelina comments that violence against women is a community and cross-sectoral issue. There is impact of violence on a community and there is a lack of awareness in the community about this.” Shelina discussed different conversations that have been taking place with partners such as Peel Regional Police, Peel Committee against Woman Abuse, and the Region of Peel regarding the increase in police responses to domestic violence.  There has been an increase of these calls to police that are from children rather than neighbours. This sends a powerful message of the lack of community response.  The reality is that the impact of domestic violence affects the entire community.  The misconception is that many people believe that violence against women is a family problem, and that if it happens behind closed doors then it’s not a problem for the community to intervene or respond to. However, the cost of violence against women to the community is high.  Shelina stressed that at one time the statistic was that a domestic homicide would cost tax payers up to $1 million dollars. When children are witnessing or being subject to violence at home, they are replaying that behavior and/or their emotions in school which has a profound effect on other children and the educational system.There are many economic and social consequences to violence against women that impacts the entire community. Therefore, the VAW sector can not stand alone to be concerned and address this issue.  Shelina believes that the community as a whole with its various strengths and expertise need to forge together to raise awareness of this issue and support families who are dealing with violence against women.