September 10, 2020
Safe Passage is a violence prevention center, both in domestic and sexual violence agency located in Coeur D’Alene Idaho and helping serve the five northern counties of Idaho. We also house the Children’s Advocacy Center, where our staff works closely with local law enforcement to provide forensic interviews. Over the past seven months, we have been working to navigate the unknowns of COVID-19, while knowing that all other agencies were in the same situation as us. During the pandemic we have been fortunate enough to remain open at all of our locations but were forced to reduce staffing to limit the chance of exposer and to keep all staff members healthy. While navigating some tough situations, staff were able to think outside the box and adapt on ways to provide services, support and engage the community in education.
One of the first things we knew we had to do was to make us more accessible to those who were unable to leave their homes to call us. This launched the creation of a 24-hour text line and as well a chat box on our website for immediate access to advocates. Our outreach team created our own Youtube channel and filled it with information about Safe Passage, service, trainings and healthy relationships. They also launched the first ever Safe Passage Podcast, where they covered topics such as the effects of COVID on survivors, DV/SA in the LGTBQ community and bystander intervention. They have continued to provide these educational Podcasts each month highlighting a new topic to cover along with guest speakers. We also were able to expand our reach with counseling services for those clients who transportation is an issue by offering telehealth. This included one on one counseling sessions and as well as group therapy.
Safe Passage also faced many challenges during the past months. While we didn’t see an increase in the number of survivors accessing services, staff did see an increase in the lethality factors present and high-risk safety planning. They also saw many survivors who faced increased barriers because they lost jobs and no longer could pay rent and other bills. Staff have worked diligently to ensure survivors continue to have their needs met. These high-risk cases started taking a toll on the advocates and the Safe Passage Leadership team worked together to focus on staff wellness and self-care, and remaining flexible to what they needed. They were able to come up with ways to keep staff connected and supported by one another in a new virtual world through zoom happy hours, socially distanced walks and more.
We are looking forward to being able to reconnect with each other as a staff and continuing to provide the unique services to survivors in North Idaho.
Chauntelle Lieske
Executive Director
Safe Passage
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Housing insecurity hurts survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Survivors experience even more health threats from losing housing while COVID19 continues to spread throughout the country, which disproportionately impacts Black people, indigenous people, people of color, people who are disabled, immigrants, and low income “front line” workers.
To reduce the transmission of COVID19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ordered a national moratorium on evictions that protects renters from becoming houseless during the COVID19 health pandemic. The eviction moratorium went into effect on September 4, 2020 and will last until December 31, 2020.
The eviction relief is not automatic, though. Renters must take proactive steps in order to benefit from the CDC’s moratorium on evictions.
Renters who qualify for the CDC’s eviction relief must meet a 5-prong test:
If a renter satisfies all 5 prongs, what the renter needs to do next depends on whether or not the renter is already in eviction court proceedings.
Renters not in eviction proceedings: if a landlord has not filed an eviction case against the renter, then the renter will need to fill out a declaration explaining they qualify under the 5-prong test above to benefit from the CDC’s eviction moratorium. The renter will need to provide a copy of the declaration to their landlord. A link to the declaration form is below. A renter need only provide more information about their financial circumstances if the landlord challenges the renter’s declaration. Even then, the renter must only provide “reasonable” specifics to prove they are eligible under the eviction moratorium.
Renter is in eviction court proceedings: If a landlord has already initiated court proceedings to evict the renter, then the renter should tell the judge the renter believes they qualify for the CDC’s eviction moratorium. The renter should file the CDC declaration with the court.
Idaho renters facing eviction should contact the Idaho Legal Aid Services to request free legal support. To contact ILAS, call their housing hotline: 208-746-7541.
Helpful links to understanding the CDC’s order:
Idaho Legal Aid Services: https://www.idaholegalaid.org/node/2690/cdc-issues-nationwide-eviction-ban-sept-4-2020-until-dec-31-2020?fbclid=IwAR1cf0J8RRiWo5_d-wwIkgDvuJJS6daak-BpsoigntrCoTVezJbYfbB5jrA (includes editable version of the renter declaration)
New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/02/your-money/eviction-moratorium-covid.html
The link to the CDC’s order: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/09/04/2020-19654/temporary-halt-in-residential-evictions-to-prevent-the-further-spread-of-covid-19
CDC declaration form: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/declaration-form.pdf
Molly Kafka
molly@engagingvoices.org
Three Things to reach out to me for:
When
Tuesday, October 6, 2020 at 11:00 AM MDT
-to-
Thursday, October 29, 2020 at 1:00 PM MDT
Tać leeheyn oykalo.
Good day relatives,
All people are sacred and worthy of protection, justice, and wellness. During October, the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence will host Ti Novitawi Kocheukaakwe Virtual Conference Honoring Missing & Murdered Indigenous People.
Presented via Zoom, this conference will give advocates, criminal legal system personnel, policy makers, and educators the opportunity to explore the disproportionate rates of gender-based violence impacting Indigenous communities in Idaho and regionally. More critically, it will provide Indigenous informed solutions and response to better collaborate across agencies and sectors.
Community and tribal domestic and sexual violence program members can participate at no cost.
For any individual or organization that is unable to pay the registration fee, there is a zero-cost scholarship option immediately available upon registration.
Registration is now open, and specific session information will be updated as details are confirmed.
Click on the link below to register.
Registration is now open!
We look forward to connecting with you for this transformative experience.
Qeci’yew’yew,
Tai Simpson
tai@engagingvoices.org
Three Things to reach out to me for:
National Prevention Town Hall
September 14
10AM – 3PM PST/11AM – 4PM MT
Racial inequities exist and it’s high time we change the way we do our work to address them.
Join storytellers, advocates, and activists as we pivot our intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention work and messaging in response to the racial inequities that COVID has laid bare, especially for Black individuals and communities across the country. Explore meaningful relationship building with communities across states, sectors, and social justice movements.
This virtual event is free and open to all, offering opportunities to engage with change makers from across the country and leave with concrete action steps, commitments, and measures for accountability to advance our collective work.
Register here!
UPCOMING WEBINARS – Resource Sharing Project – OVW Sexual Assault National Technical Assistance Provider
Each week will have a different topic and facilitator so please make sure to register for each Community Dialogue you are interested in attending. Registration information for the first four weekly Community Dialogues is listed below. Simultaneous Spanish interpretation and closed captioning will be provided. Registration capacity is 100 participants, unless otherwise noted.
Anti-Blackness in the Anti Gender-Based Violence Movement
September 17: Register here.
Join Annika Leonard as she connects the history of Anti-Blackness to modern day prevention and intervention efforts in North America’s Anti-Gender-Based Violence Movements and with focus on sexual violence. Exploring Anti-Blackness as it occurs in the day to day experiences of a gender-based violence survivor, how we relate each other and the way in which it is embedded into the fabric of North American institutions may be triggering for some. For others this dialogue may provide an opportunity to hear their experiences validated and share the wisdom gained from the experience. Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum of experience and knowledge, we hope that you accept our invitation to a solution-oriented conversation that is long overdue.
Building Solidarity Across Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
September 24: Register here.
Our country is in deep truth telling mode, where many Black and Indigenous communities are rising and calling for accountability, for transparency regarding every movement and system across the U.S. Join us as BIPOC anti-sexual assault leaders explore our own accountability and transparency amongst our movement. We will also take a deep dive into framing the concept of siblinghood and solidarity as a strategy for creating culturally specific strategies and as a tool for ending sexual violence. This session will explore the following questions: What does accountability and transparency look like in the movement to end sexual violence? What does accountability and transparency look like for us and with each other as BIPOC? What is this moment demanding of us as BIPOC leaders working to end sexual violence? This dialogue will lay the foundation of the work started by the SADI (Sexual Assault Demonstration Initiative) Indigenous and Communities of Color circle/focus group, while envisioning next level work by culturally specific communities.
**Please note that this dialogue is geared towards people who identify as and have lived experiences as Black/communities of color/people of color/Indigenous/tribal communities. Registration is limited to 20 participants to provide intentional time and space to establish trust and love with each other and to allow for dialogue across all participants.
Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder: What it means for your work
October 1: Register here.
Olga Trujillo was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder) at the age of 31. Over the years she has undergone an intense journey to understand what Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is, how she developed it, the impact on her life, and she began to address the challenges she faced in healing. In 2011 Olga’s memoir, The Sum of My Parts: A Survivor’s Story of Dissociative Identity Disorder was released by New Harbinger Publications. In this dialogue, Olga will bring her experience of DID to help participants expand their knowledge from an inside out perspective. Participants will explore how DID develops, what the signs are, how it can impact survivors.
Enhancing Advocacy through a Healing Centered Approach
October 8: Register here.
A healing centered approach incorporates a trauma-informed lens while also centering the survivor’s cultural identity and strengths. This holistic approach to advocacy can provide survivors with the opportunities for healing. Join Olga Trujillo for this dialogue where she will explore how advocates can take a healing centered approach with survivors. Through a case study, facilitators will examine why cultural identity is so important and explore strategies advocates may take that sustain connection and center cultural identity and individual strengths at its foundation. Together, these strategies support healing and resilience. The dialogue offers practical guidance for advocates to move toward a healing centered approach.
WEBINAR RECORDINGS – National Network to End Domestic Violence Cultural Series – OVW National Technical Assistance Provider Domestic Violence
March 26: LGBTQ Communities, National LGBTQ Institute/NW Network Click Here
May 20: Native American Communities, NIWRC & AKNWRC Click Here
May 27: Alaskan Native Communities, NIWRC & AKNWRC Click Here
June 18: Asian-Pacific Islander Communities, APIGBV Click Here
August 12: Persons with Disabilities Communities – Pt.1, Vera Institute for Justice Click Here
August 19: Persons with Disabilities Communities – Pt. 2, Vera Institute for Justice Click Here
September 2: African-American Communities, Ujima Click Here
Here’s more detail with the power points and handouts:
LGBTQ Communities Resources from the National LGBTQ Institute on Intimate Partner Violence: PowerPoint Slides and Chatbox: Click Here
Native American Communities Resources from the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC): PowerPoint Slides and Chatbox: Click Here
Persons with Disabilities Communities Resources from the Vera Institute of Justice: PowerPoint Slides and Chatbox: Click Here
*** ALL material orders are currently on hold, if you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. ***
Reminder that shipping for all material orders made by Programs on the Idaho Coalition website store is FREE of cost, please use the below coupon for all orders.
Visit the online store to view current Idaho Coalition materials available for order. For store questions, please contact Lacey Sinn.
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