Catawba Indian Nation Circle of Hope Domestic Violence Advocacy Program

• CIRCLE OF HOPE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ADVOCACY PROGRAM
• PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
• PLANNING & IMPLEMENTATION
• PROGRAM OUTCOMES

The Catawba Indian Nation’s, Circle of Hope Domestic Violence Advocacy Program provides holistic, culturally-competent services for victims of domestic violence on the Catawba Indian Nation. Program staff provide a coordinated emergency response, including safe shelter, food and clothing, individual counseling, transportation, accompaniment to court and medical appointments, and housing. The program incorporates cultural activities and traditional healing practices. Program staff also offer a range of legal and advocacy services for women with child custody or divorce cases, or who may need assistance filing orders of protection. Additionally, the program engages the community through awareness and prevention programs about domestic violence.Using traditional practices like equine therapy, drumming circles, and smudging, the Cedar Bough program sought to strengthen participants’ tribal identity and connection to Native culture. Program staff worked in partnership with a variety of supportive adults, such as therapists, case workers, child welfare workers, tribal representatives, and family members, to support, empower, and meet the needs of each participant.

Location:

The Catawba Indian Nation’s headquarters are located in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Land Characteristics:

The Catawba Reservation comprises two separate sections in York County, South Carolina, both east of Rock Hill along the west bank of the Catawba River.

Population:

As of 2006, the Catawba Indian Nation had approximately 2,600 members. Most of the tribe’s members live in South Carolina, with smaller groups in Oklahoma, Colorado, and elsewhere. The Catawba Reservation reported a population of 841 inhabitants for the 2010 U.S. Census.
In the early 2000s, the Catawba Indian Nation’s Department of Social Services received a high volume of clients who had been sexually assaulted or abused. The Department of Social Services was not equipped to provide victims with the services they needed, and the community had nowhere else to refer victims of sexual abuse. As a result, victims had few options for their medical, legal, therapeutic, and spiritual needs.The target population for this program includes any tribal member who has been the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or sexual abuse.
The primary goal of the Circle of Hope Program is to provide direct and culturally-competent services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and sexual abuse. Secondary goals include educating tribal members about the effects of domestic violence on children and encouraging awareness among teens in order to break the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence.
The Circle of Hope Domestic Violence Advocacy Program responds directly to emergency calls, collaborating with law enforcement at the scene of the incident. The program offers emergency housing, a women’s shelter on the reservation, food and clothing, individual counseling, transportation, accompaniment to court and medical appointments, as well as a range of legal services regarding child custody, divorce, and orders of protection.

Program staff conduct an individualized intake assessment for victims who seek services. The assessment includes questions about the victim’s cultural needs, and program staff can use this information to connect clients to cultural modes of healing. For example, two staff members take groups of women to a sweat lodge every other month. One staff member accompanies the women into the sweat while the other waits outside with any women who decide not to enter. In addition, the program’s advisory committee includes both a medicine woman and a medicine man, who help incorporate culture and tradition into the healing process. The medicine woman also works at the local health clinic, where she screens women for domestic violence and sexual assault. The program facilitates client participation in other traditional practices as well, including smudging and traditional dance. At the annual pow-wow, survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault perform a special dance to the Women’s Honor Song, which they learn from tribal elders at the Cultural Center.

Additionally, program staff conduct community outreach and educational activities. The program has hosted two community summits to explain the available services and answer questions from community members. Program staff hope to host future summits in order to continue community outreach and the improvement of its services. As a long-term goal, staff would like to set up a hotline for victims. They currently have at least one advocate on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using a cell phone.
The program’s staff includes two full-time advocates, one part-time therapist, and one full-time administrative assistant.

The program was awarded a grant from the federal Office on Violence Against Women in October of 2009. At that time, basic services were already offered and funded through the tribe’s Department of Social Services—the new grant allowed the Circle of Hope Program to expand services. It took about four months to plan the program expansion, and the program began offering its current range of services in February 2010. The program was re-funded in 2013 under a new grant from the Office on Violence Against Women, allowing the Circle of Hope to become the first program under the tribe’s newly created Department of Justice.

The grant currently pays for the salaries of the program’s two full-time advocates as well as the administrative assistant. Additionally, the grant covers the first 15 hours/week for the program’s therapist, while a separate grant funds the remaining 14 hours.

The program submits biannual reports to the Office on Violence Against Women that include number of clients served, the number of times each client is served, client demographics (including the type of relationship between victim and offender), and the number and type of services provided.
An Office on Violence Against Women training and technical assistance provider conducted a site visit to help the Circle of Hope Program develop program protocols and policies.
During the early planning phases, the program’s founders included the York County Sheriff’s Department, the tribe’s Director of Social Services, and a tribal grant writer. The tribe recently received funding to start a Boys and Girls Club, and program staff expect to work closely with it once it opens.

The program provides victim services to a minimum of 25 community members each year.
As part of the program’s discharge process, clients fill out an evaluation rating the services provided and seeking recommendations for improving the program. Clients also have the opportunity to provide personal narratives about how the program was helpful to them. The program is currently compiling data from the evaluations in order to identify areas for improvement.