The STRENGTH Project Community Report on Outreach Activities

The STRENGTH PROJECT is a 3-year, community-based pilot research project exploring women-led, trauma- and- violenceinformed outreach with women in the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood in Vancouver, BC. The goal is to reduce barriers in accessing support services among women affected by violence by building lasting relationships that promote autonomy and enhance overall quality of life. The project is led by a team of researchers, service leaders/staff and experiential experts (i.e., women affected by violence), and builds on current services’ capacities to learn if and how integrating a women-led and trauma-and-violence informed approach to outreach facilitates women’s connections with services and improves service coordination. Many women experience limited access to services necessary to prevent interpersonal and systemic violence and reduce its harmful effects. Barriers include isolation, control by partners, knowledge gaps about services, and negative encounters in support service settings. This project explores outreach activities to build lasting relationships between outreach workers and women to enhance quality of life and overall well-being. [This pilot research report corresponds to the STRENGTH project pilot study findings available at http://hdl.handle.net/2429/78366]Applied Science, Faculty ofNursing, School ofReviewedFacult