2023 Domestic Violence Solutions Conference
September 6th- 8th, 2023
There will be 18 CEUs available for this conference!
September 6th- 8th, 2023
There will be 18 CEUs available for this conference!
*NOTE* If you have registered: We have been communicating via the Eventbrite platform, please take a moment to check your spam, promotion, or other folders, as emails of this nature may occasionally end up there. And please ensure that you are checking the email that was utilized to register for this event :) A document has been sent that is designed to provide you with everything you need to fully engage in the conference.
Theme
ENGAGE, LISTEN, EMPOWER
Uplifting and centering voices to encourage children, individuals & families to build trust, safety and create healthy relationships, homes, and communities.
ENGAGE, LISTEN, EMPOWER
Uplifting and centering voices to encourage children, individuals & families to build trust, safety and create healthy relationships, homes, and communities.
Purpose
Our annual DV Solutions Conference aims to explore effective ways of interrupting intergenerational domestic violence through trauma-informed practices in advocacy and intervention modalities. Based on survey results and through interdisciplinary collaboration, we have decided to focus on SAMHSA's trauma-informed principles of Transparency, Trust & Safety.
These topics are essential and interconnected in addressing interpersonal violence within a social justice framework. This year, our focus will be on serving the entire family, including children, survivors/those impacted by violence, and those who use violence. We plan to achieve this by amplifying the voices of those affected by violence and providing solution-focused strategies and interventions that promote healing, resilience, trust, safety, and transparency, thereby fostering healthy relationships, homes, and communities.
What to Expect?
On the first day of the conference, we will delve into the concept of transformational justice. We will explore how this approach can be integrated into our service provisions, recognizing that survivors of violence often desire an end to violence and for the harm-doers to be held accountable. However, they may not wish to engage with punitive state systems due to reasons such as financial dependency, co-parenting, housing, and emotional attachments. This day will involve an exploration of ways in which we can broaden our understanding of justice and support the healing of all individuals impacted by violence, rather than relying solely on punitive measures. Through this approach, we can encourage a transformative and restorative process centered on collaboration, healing, and growth.
Keynote Speaker: Sonya Shah & Richard Cruz, Ahimsa Collective
On the second day of the conference, we will emphasize the significance of comprehending the social factors that influence those who have caused harm and explore ways to integrate this knowledge into our service delivery. It is crucial to recognize that violence does not occur in a vacuum and that there are various external factors contributing to these actions. By acknowledging and addressing these social influences, we can offer more effective and holistic support to promote healing and prevent future harm. This includes considering cultural and systemic factors, such as poverty, racism, and trauma, and their impact on an individual's behavior. We will explore ways to be mindful of these influences and integrate them into our work with individuals who have caused harm.=
Keynote Speaker: Ulester Douglas
On the final day of the conference, our primary goal is to enhance the support provided to children affected by violence, especially those living in abusive households or experiencing child abuse. Our focus will be on identifying protective factors, offering comprehensive assistance to families, and integrating safety planning and reflective practices into our interventions. By attending this session, participants will acquire evidence-based strategies to foster resilience in these children and effectively tackle the specific obstacles they encounter. Together, we will work towards the promotion of equitable and inclusive services for all children impacted by violence.
Keynote Speaker: Tien Ung, PhD
CEUs?
Yes! We will have 18 CEUs credits available which will include 2 opportunities for attending a suicide prevention and ethics
This conference will be a virtual event held on Zoom.
Keynote Speakers:
Day 1: Sonya Shah
Sonya Shah initiated the Ahimsa Collective in 2016. She is also an associate professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Central to her core values are nurturing community belonging and collective care, healing, compassion, love and transforming harm. She is a Buddhist, a first-generation immigrant from the Northwestern part of India and feels most at home in nature. She has two amazing children who remind her what it means to be in love all of the time, and currently resides in northern California.
Day 1: Richard Cruz
Coming soon
Day 2: Ulester Douglas
Ulester Douglas is a psychotherapist, consultant, social justice advocate, and a nationally recognized leader in the movement to end violence against women. He was executive director at a national non-profit domestic violence program, and an adjunct professor at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Ulester obtained his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
He has provided consultation, training, and keynote presentations in 40 states, Europe and the Caribbean to or for community-based organizations, universities, corporations, and government agencies, including the U.S. Departments of Defense and State. Ulester was honored by Lifetime Television for Women and the National Network to End Domestic Violence in 2003, The Ford Motor Company in 2012, and the City of Atlanta in 2017. He has also received numerous awards including a National Institute of Mental Health Fellowship in 1990, the National District Attorneys Association’s Stephen L. Von Riesen Lecturer of Merit Award in 2010, the National Black Herstory Task Force’s Comrade Salute Award in 2004, and in 2019, the Deborah C. McDorman Memorial Award for “Exemplary Humanitarian Efforts and Advocacy to End Domestic Violence.” In 2010 Ulester was invited to the White House to help commemorate the launch of the Obama administration’s domestic violence prevention initiatives. And in 2015, he was appointed to the Georgia Commission on Family Violence by then Governor Nathen Deal.
Ulester has been interviewed by local and national media including CNN, The New York Times, NPR, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, News One Now with Roland Martin, The Al Sharpton Show, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has authored and co-authored articles and curricula on family violence and other human rights issues, including the peer-reviewed articles “Deconstructing Male Violence Against Women: The Men Stopping Violence Community-Accountability Model” (Violence Against Women, An International and Interdisciplinary Journal - Sage Publications, 2008) and “Men Stopping Violence’s Definition of Male Sexual Violence Against Women: Implications for Prevention and Intervention” ( R. Geffner et al. (eds.), Handbook of Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan, Springer Publication, 2020).
Day 3: Tien Ung, Ph.D.
Coming soon