London Abused Women's Centre is a feminist organization that provides counselling and support for women abused by their intimate partner(s) and advocates for personal, social, and political change to end violence and abuse against women.

VISION

London Abused Women's Centre will proactively advocate, educate, collaborate, and provide compassionate and effective well-resourced counselling services for abused women.

London Abused Women's Centre will maintain its committment to feminism, justice and equality and be a respected leader in eradicating woman abuse at community and global levels.

DEFINITIONS

Advocacy: Actions taken to support or to be active in effecting change to a position, policy, cause or proposal.

Feminism: To support women's rights and interests based on a belief in social, political, legal, and economic equality of the sexes.

QUICK HISTORICAL FACTS

• Concept: The London Abused Women's Centre was a concept which evolved from preliminary research conducted in the late 1970's by Professor Constance Backhouse. The research established the need for improved advocacy services for abused women.
• Research: During 1981, research was completed by Dr. Peter Jaffe and Dr. Carole Anne Burris entitled "An Integrated Response to Wife Assault: A Community Model." This research focused on practical steps toward providing an integrated community response to end violence against women. This research found that the criminal justice response to woman abuse was complex and it was identified that there needed to be specific provisions for a counselling advocacy centre for abused women.
• Proposal: Using information from these studies, the newly formed Women's Education and Research Foundation sponsored the submission to Health and Welfare Canada for the beginnings of the London Abused Women's Centre.

• Funded: In November 1982, the London Abused Women's Centre received funding from Health and Welfare Canada for a demonstration grant ending March 1984.
• Grants: Grant from the Co-Ed/Needs Programme of Employment Canada from April 1983 to March 1984 funds additional staff: one Advocate/Counsellor, one Research Assistant and one Volunteer Co-ordinator.
• Extension: Extension to Health and Welfare demonstration grant from April 1984 to March 1985; allows hiring of full-time Research Associate.
• Incorporation: May 1984, the London Abused Women's Centre incorporated as a non-profit corporation with charitable status.
• Grants: May 1984 to August 1984, Summer Canada grant to hire 3 students to do research into special needs of ethnic and native abused women as well as legislative alternatives to improve the criminal justice system response to abuse.
• Funding: In March 1985, federal funding ended. The London Abused Women's Centre received reduced funding from the Ontario Women's Directorate and the Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Services (MCFCS, formerly the Ministry of Community & Social Services) for a two year period to continue the counselling portion of the programme. Staff was reduced to four full-time employees (one Executive Director, one Administrative Assistant and two Advocate/Counsellors with a small fund for a part-time Researcher).
• Grants: To be further researched.
• Review: In 1991, Marion Boyd was elected into public office and Julie Lee became the new Executive Director of the London Abused Women's Centre. During this time the Board of Directors hired Catalyst Consulting to complete an organizational review of the agency to establish a plan for future development. Some of the outcomes were: increased group work for abused women, increased community advocacy and a focus on fund-raising.
• Funding: In 1991, the agency was receiving core funding from MCFCS. Staff included: 1 Executive Director, 1 Administrative Assistant, 1 Financial Assistant, 3 Advocate/Counsellors and one contract Advocate/Counsellor.
• Program: The services offered changed to focus specifically on women who were abused by their primary partner. A group program was established and the job description of the Advocate/Counsellors was expanded to include community advocacy.
• Funding: Although the London Abused Women's Centre traditionally looked to the government to fulfill its financial obligations, it became clear in the early 1990's that the agency's needs were outgrowing the core funding allocations from MCFCS. The agency hired a fund-raiser to undertake this endeavour.
• Move: In February 1993, the agency moved to a new location at 69 Wellington Street.
• Plan: In 1994, the agency established a strategic plan which included a revised mission statement and an agency name change to the London Battered Women's Advocacy Centre. The agency reaffirmed its commitment to the goal of ensuring social justice for all women. It became clear the agency needed to continue its exemplary service to the immediate needs of victims of abuse and at the same time expand its work beyond this to include action that impacts the underlying conditions of inequality that perpetuates woman abuse.
• Trillium: The London Abused Women's Centre secured a grant from Trillium to undertake community advocacy to improve society's response to woman abuse. Some of the initiatives included: a report to the LCCEWA regarding case disclosure, a lawyer referral resource for agency clients and a report to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board regarding proposed changes to its procedures. Also, Trillium provided funds to initiate the Action Community mentioned below.
• Community: Abused women expressed the desire to be a part of social action initiatives that would end violence against women. In 1996, a comprehensive Action Community was developed to promote grassroots organizing and provide members of the London community with an opportunity to volunteer in collaboration with the London Abused Women's Centre to help end woman abuse.
• Changes: In 1997, Julie Lee returned to school to pursue her degree in law. The agency hired Megan Walker to lead the organization as Executive Director. A new strategic plan was developed to focus on the criminal justice systems response to abused women and the health sectors response to abused women. In 1998, the London Abused Women's Centre introduced a revised organizational chart that included new positions of Program Manager and Business Manager.
• Plan: In 1999, the Board of Directors undertook a strategic planning process that revised the agency's mission statement, created a vision statement for the organization and set four goals for direction in service delivery.
• Changes: In November 2001, the agency changed its name from the London Battered Women's Advocacy Centre to the London Abused Women's Centre.
• Plan: In August 2002, the Board of Directors amended its strategic plan, changing its mission statement, vision statement and setting out four new goals for direction through to 2008.
• Changes: In November 2002, the agency changed its logo and tag line.
• Celebration: In November 2002, the London Abused Women's Centre celebrated 20 years of providing service to abused women.
• Move: In March 2004, the agency moved to a new location at 217 York Street.
• An Innovative New Ontario Trillium Foundation-funded Outreach Initiative: London Abused Women's Centre's new Outreach Inititiative provides counselling, support, safety planning, and advocacy for up to eight individual advocacy/counselling sessions to abused women off-site. This service is available to those abused women who are clients of other agencies but who are identified as being in need of London Abused Women's Centre services. The primary focus of the initiative is to bring London Abused Women's Centre services to women now facing barriers to receiving counselling services at the London Abused Women's Centre. This would include providing services to women who face additioonal barriers due to:

1. homelessness
2. hospitalization
3. isolation and lack of transportation for women in rural areas
4. isolation experienced by women from diverse cultures and/or mimmigrants or fugees
5. disabilities, including mental health
6. involvement in the sex trade
7. HIV or AIDS
8. youth
9. addictions
10. residence at a group home for young women (Western ARea Youth Services - WAYS)
11. incarceration at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre or involvement in the criminal justice system

    
    
    

• The Ontario Woman Abuse Screening Project
  
  
  
  The Ontario Woman Abuse Screening Project, funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, is engaging regions across Ontario in collaborating across sectors to implement screening for woman abuse, sexual assault and trauma in mental health and addiction agencies, and to train workers in these sectors to provide woman abuse-informed/ sexual assault-informed/ trauma-informed services.    In a corresponding systemic change in woman abuse and sexual assault services, workers in these sectors will be trained to provide mental health-informed and addictions-informed services to abused women dealing with mental health and/or addiction issues accessing shelters and counselling and this will make it possible for women who might otherwise be excluded from shelter and sexual assault services to continue to receive those services.   It is a model, successfully tested in the London-Middlesex region, which encourages and supports the ongoing development of coordinated and integrated service delivery for abused women with concurrent mental health and/or addiction issues.  
  The Ontario Woman Abuse Screening Project is a project of the Women's Mental Health and Addictions Action and Research Coalition. The London Abused Women’s Centre is the lead agency for the Ontario Woman Abuse Screening Project, a collaboration of over forty agencies and programs in the mental health, addiction, woman abuse, sexual assault and allied sectors, as well as,  women of experience  in four  regions (Chatham-Kent, Grey-Bruce, Sudbury-Manitoulin and London -Middlesex), which have worked together over six months and are ready to facilitate roll out of the proposed project in the first three regions.  The implementation of Phase Two of the initiative in these three diverse regions will enhance our capacity to develop a web-based guide for regions across Ontario to implement screening and trauma-informed services and enable the development of trainings and tools specific to and responsive to abused women with concurrent mental health and addiction issues with particular trainings focusing on providing appropriate services to First Nations/Native Women, Francophone Women, rural women, GLBT (lesbians and bi-sexual, transgendered and two-spirited women), and women in northern Ontario.
  Five provincial teleconferences will be held to engage agencies and regions across Ontario in collaborating to implement screening and trauma-informed services in their area through cross-sectoral collaboration.  Participants in Phase One of the project will develop and deliver trainings which will be available on the new web-site along with a collaborative model for implementation, a toolkit for screening, practical steps for implementation, and best practices to deliver woman abuse-informed/trauma-informed services. 
  Early identification of woman abuse, sexual abuse and trauma will lead to an improved and coordinated response to women with concurrent mental health and addiction issues; early interventions and appropriate service responses will support women’s health and safety and the health and safety of their children.  It will support the health and well being of some of the most vulnerable of women who are falling through the cracks of current health and social service systems, or who are unable to access the health and social service supports they need because of fragmented way services are designed.
  Mental health, addiction, woman abuse and sexual assault agencies/programs across Ontario will be invited to participate in proposed teleconferences and to access trainings on the Woman Abuse Screening web site (womanabusescreening.ca) to be launched in 2010-11. If you and your agency/program are interested in participating in the teleconferences and trainings please e-mail the Provincial Co-ordinator at slcoulter@lawc.on.ca.  To view the resources developed in the pilot project in London –Middlesex go to the Women's Mental Health and Addictions Action and Research Coalition web site at wmhaarc.ca and click on Building Connections Manual and the Guide to Screening for Abuse.
  
  
  
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