A group program focusing on:

• Emergency, short-term and long-term domestic and family violence counseling to residents of St Louis County homeless shelters
  

The Domestic Violence Response Program (DVRP), funded through a partnership with the St. Louis County Homeless Services Program and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is a comprehensive approach to responding to the needs of women, children, and men within the general shelter system who are victims of domestic violence. Specifically, this program includes initial assessment and short term counseling for all shelter residents with current episodes or past histories of domestic violence; long-term follow-up and counseling for primary and secondary victims of violence; 24 hour emergency support services to shelter residents in crisis, treatment referrals, and on-going coordinated case review with shelter staff.

Adult Counseling Services

The adult counseling component offered through the DVRP is designed to assist individuals who have experienced various forms of family violence, including incest, rape, child abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse. Some of the goals of the individual work with victims experiencing family violence include:

• Exploration of each individual's experience with domestic violence, including childhood victimization if applicable.
• The provision of necessary educational information concerning the dynamics of abuse, victim compensation, and community resources for victims and perpetrators.
• Support and advocacy for the victim as they resolve legal issues, housing dilemmas, economic uncertainty, and medical problems.
• Training and practice opportunities in building self-esteem, decision-making, and expressing anger in healthy ways.
  
  

Children's Counseling Services

The Children's component offered through the DVRP is designed to help children understand that they are not alone in their experiences and they are not to blame for the violence. Common problems of these children include: low self-esteem; the inability to make choices due to fears; the inability to express feelings; and the tendency to resolve all conflicts through violence. Some of the goals of the individual work with children include:

• To learn to identify, name, accept, and express feelings
• To understand that the violence and/or abuse they have experienced is not their fault
• To develop safety planning skills
• To develop and/or strengthen decision-making skills
• To practice non-violent ways of resolving conflicts