Different ways to be #UnitedThroughLove
We hope you had a happy June! Two of CPAF's core values are a commitment to nonviolence and continued development. While staff engage in discussions on nonviolence and restorative justice throughout the year, in recognition of Juneteenth (commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S.) and LGBTQ Pride in June, we would like to share some reflection questions with our community. In what spaces or groups do you have in your life, where you feel fully seen and heard? How do we ask questions about other cultures or what people might be experiencing? How do you define gender/sexuality? When you consider queerness, what do you imagine?
Parenting with Nonviolence - Community of Practice
A big thank you to our partner organizations, Pacific Clinics, KYCC, KFAM, and Families in Good Health (FiGH) for attending our first in-person Community of Practice gathering!
Community partners from our parenting with nonviolence program came to share the successes, challenges, and questions around implementing CPAF’s PEACE program over some pancit, adobo, pinakbet, and lechon.
PEACE CoP (Community of Practice) is a monthly one-hour virtual space for participants who have completed CPAF’s PEACE Training of Trainers program to continue building a community of nonviolence practitioners in violence prevention work, particularly parenting programs.
Interested in facilitating parenting groups with nonviolence principles? Fill out an interest form!
Community partners from our parenting with nonviolence program stand together with our celebration of Pride unicorn.
Restorative Justice
Toward CPAF’s ongoing commitment to provide accessible and equitable resources and systems while honoring self-determination for survivors of sexual violence, we have joined partner organizations VALORUS, East L.A. Women’s Center, Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR), Monarch Services, and REACH, formerly Center Against Sexual Assault of Southwest Riverside County (C.A.S.A.), in receiving training on restorative justice practices.
With roots in indigenous communities, restorative justice provides those who have experienced harm an opportunity to safely express their needs and the impact of the harm, to those involved in causing the harm. It requires the person who has caused harm to intently listen, acknowledge, name, and actively take steps in making amends for the harm. Through healing and compassion, restorative justice uses a human-centered approach to repair and prevent any further harm.
For the next year, some of the community program staff will participate in learning restorative justice practices and build the capacity to offer survivors of sexual violence who feel this is right for them an optional pilot program to process their healing. CPAF continues to strive to meet survivors where they are at in their healing journeys through culturally responsive lens.
Volunteer Spotlight – Patrick Brady
The first time I walked into the Community Center it was to help CPAF with strategic messaging and branding, conducting interviews, and research. Debra Suh, then Executive Director, suggested that I take part in CPAF’s volunteer training. What I expected to be a six-month project became a passion that has engaged me for more than ten years.
Through the training I learned more about domestic violence and sexual assault than I would have otherwise but, more importantly, I witnessed firsthand the commitment and hard work of staff members in the shelters, as they provide the service and support needed by those seeking to survive and overcome the violence they have experienced. The training not only helped in shaping the project I was working on, but it also drove home to me the importance of CPAF’s place in the community, so much so, that it left me with a question: How can I help?
The training qualified me to volunteer in the shelters but what role could I play? Over the years I found my volunteering would be in such hands-on roles as tutor, homework helper, renovator, grocery shopper, and leader of children’s group activities. I have deeply enjoyed the friendship of the mothers and children I have had the privilege of meeting and hope that I have helped them to heal and rebuild their confidence.
Nothing is more satisfying than returning home after an afternoon witnessing the resilience, energy, and strength of the mothers and children with whom I have interacted. Just as importantly, I have made many good friends among the leadership and staff at CPAF and have come to fully appreciate the challenges they face and overcome through their ingenuity, resolve, and strength of character.
--Patrick Brady, CPAF volunteer
Interested in learning more about CPAF’s Advocate Training? Our Fall training begins August 18th. Click here to learn more: Fall Advocate Training
If you donated to CPAF this fiscal year (July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023), you may be able to double your impact! Ask your employer about their donation match programs. We thank you for your continued support!