PENNSYLVANIA COALITION AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence strives to create a collective culture of change that fosters safety, justice and autonomy. While local domestic violence programs offer direct service to those in need, PCADV provides the infrastructure, support, expertise and training to make their work effective. Stronger together, the Coalition provides a collective voice that amplifies many voices.

Cultivating a vision of a society free of domestic violence and working toward that future, PCADV’s programming focuses on three areas: Prevention, Intervention and Change.

PCADV’s programming focuses on three areas: Prevention, Intervention and Change.

PREVENTION: Through its Prevention work, PCADV strives to stop intimate partner violence before it starts. Breaking the generational cycle of violence for children, teens and young adults by changing public attitudes and social norms will create a future in which lives are neither lost to, nor limited by, domestic violence.

INTERVENTION: All victims and survivors of domestic violence should have access to essential, life- saving services to build lives that are financially independent, free of violence, and sustainable. Key intervention programming is available through local agencies and includes Housing, Civil Legal Representation, Lethality Assessment Screening, Medical Advocacy, and Economic Justice.

Housing: Finding safe, affordable housing is crucial to a survivor’s ability to escape an abusive environment and build an independent life. PCADV is committed to supporting member programs in developing new innovative housing initiatives and ensuring that current housing options are working for victims and survivors.

Civil Legal Representation (CLR): Navigating a complex and often unfamiliar legal process is challenging for a survivor and is one of the most common barriers to leaving an abusive relationship. CLR attorneys provide direct legal representation for domestic violence survivors on matters of divorce, custody, support, immigration, housing, and protection from abuse within their county service areas.

Lethality Assessment Program (LAP): The Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) is a nationally recognized, evidence-based initiative with demonstrated success in strengthening partnerships between law enforcement and community-based domestic violence programs. Police officers are trained to identify the warning signs of domestic violence and follow a survivor-centered protocol for assessing potentially lethal situations when responding to domestic violence incidents.

Medical Advocacy Program (MAP): This initiative allows advocates to train medical personnel in a variety of professional settings about both the visible and emotional signs of domestic violence. A screening tool is used with individuals who present with certain symptoms to help identify signs of abuse.

Economic Justice: Financial abuse is present in more than 98% of cases. This initiative helps survivors access education, develop budgeting skills, repair credit, build savings, find affordable housing, and gain meaningful employment with living wages.

CHANGE: As the collective voice of its local domestic violence programs, PCADV is committed to making a lasting impact in the Commonwealth through policy work at the state and federal level. PCADV actively advocates for change and works to block policies that create additional barriers or penalize victims.

Founded in 1976, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) is the oldest statewide domestic violence coalition in the nation. Each year, its network of 59 community-based programs provides free and confidential services to nearly 90,000 victims of domestic violence and their children in all 67 counties of the Commonwealth. The local programs and Coalition form interconnecting links in a chain of services and support to help victims and survivors find safety, obtain justice, and build lives free of abuse. More than 2.5 million victims and their children have been served by PCADV and its member programs since 1976.

PCADV and its member programs have accomplished much over the years. The following are recent highlights:

March 2018: PCADV was awarded a five-year CDC DELTA Impact Grant to further its ground- breaking Prevention work.

November 2018 – PCADV was awarded VOCA funds to launch the Domestic Violence Housing First project.

January 2019 – PCADV awarded funding from HUD for the Eastern CoC to provide Rapid Rehousing for survivors, renewable annually.

On April 10, 2019, Act 79 went into effect, the most critical and significant expansion of the Protection from Abuse (PFA) Act and the Uniform Firearms Act in nearly a decade.

January 2020 – PCADV awarded funding from HUD for the Western CoC to provide Rapid Rehousing for survivors, renewable annually.

Spring 2020: PCADV completed the development of Coaching Girls Beyond the Game, a companion program for Coaching Boys Into Men. This female athletes curriculum for coaches and adult influencers uses a 12-week playbook to guide discussions that build a healthy self-image and relationship skills.

June 2020: PCADV was awarded a supplemental CDC DELTA grant to test and disseminate messaging that connects intimate partner prevention efforts to health inequities further exacerbated by the COVID-19 public health crisis.

August 2020: PCADV was selected to conduct a housing project in Southwestern Pennsylvania through funding from the National Alliance for Safe Housing to address the increased barriers presented by COVID-19.

August 2020: PCADV was proud to launch the Spanish version of its PA Safe Law site.

December 2020: PCADV was awarded a grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to continue its frontline response to survivor housing needs during COVID-19 in Southwestern Pennsylvania through 2021. This innovative, regional housing project uses survivor-driven advocacy and resilience funds to bridge the gap between rapid rehousing and unmet needs.

April 2021: PCADV was awarded $6.25 million in ESG-CV funds to support Homelessness Prevention and Emergency Shelter statewide with pass-through funding specific to 23 member programs.