Partnership With Faith Communities
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Faith Leaders for Healthy Relationships
Since 2009, Hope House has been meeting regularly with a group of local clergy, parish nurses, and lay leaders. Now titled Faith Leaders for Healthy Relationships, this committee works together to build healthy relationships in our faith communities. They work to promote awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault in our faith communities by coordinating educational opportunities and networking to extend appropriate pastoral care to victims and their families. The committee normally meets around two to three times a year at Hope House. If you're involved with a faith community and would be interested in attending meetings or learning more, please contact the Community Engagement and Volunteer Coordinator at Hope House at 608-356-9123 or email them here. Please see our events page for any upcoming luncheons for faith communities. |
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What Faith Communities Can Do to Help
Hope House is happy to work with you and your faith community to better support victims and survivors, hold perpetrators accountable, and raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence. Here are some suggestions:
- Invite Hope House to give a presentation to your faith community: Visit our community education page to learn more about the different types of presentation topics we offer for adults and youth.
- Contact Hope House about free written materials: Hope House has a selection of brochures, flyers, posters, and business cards to post for your congregation. Topics include Hope House services, information on support groups, domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, teen dating violence, role modeling healthy behavior, and volunteer and donation needs. Call Hope House at 608-356-9123 to request materials.
- Utilize the Faith Trust Institute: Visit the Faith Trust Institute's website for lots of great resources for faith communities on dealing with and raising awareness about domestic, sexual, and child abuse, including articles, webinars, FAQs, statistics, curriculum, books, and videos. A sample resource is available for download below.
- Add information to your church bulletin or newsletter: Contact Hope House's Community Engagement & Volunteer Coordinator at 608-356-9123 to receive information about Hope House services and/or domestic and sexual violence awareness to add to your church bulletin or newsletter.
- Attend Faith Leaders for Healthy Relationships meetings and training seminars: Please see the previous section for information on networking with other faith leaders on these issues. Attend meetings and seminars as your schedule allows.
- Contact Hope House for ways to celebrate awareness months: There are several designated months throughout the year that serve as a prime time for raising awareness: January is Stalking Awareness Month, February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month, and October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
- Donate needed items and volunteer your time: Please visit our donations page for information on the items Hope House needs regularly, and visit our volunteer page for information on the many ways you can volunteer for Hope House.
For further reading, check out What Religious Leaders Can Do and What Faith Communities Can Do.