Crisis Center continues providing crucial community education

Stephanie Tunney needed to participate in a 40-hour domestic violence training this spring so she could start her clinical mental health counseling practicum in July. The site where she was initially registered for the training had canceled their sessions due to the pandemic, and she wasn’t sure whether she would be able to find another provider. Tunney reached out to multiple agencies and Sol Ennis-Klyczek, director of prevention and education for the Crisis Center for South Suburbia, responded immediately.

“She contacted me saying ‘yes, we are offering the training,’ so I was able to complete it in time,” Tunney said. “I am so grateful.”

The Crisis Center for South Suburbia is committed to community education to ensure as many community members as possible learn how to identify and prevent domestic violence. This commitment has continued throughout the pandemic.

“Many people are interested in becoming domestic violence advocates, and our classes and trainings offer them that opportunity,” Ennis-Klyczek said, adding that many participants realize as they are taking a class that they also have experienced domestic violence themselves. “Typically, the people who are in the advocacy class are not in anyone’s database; they are not and have not ever been in a domestic violence shelter or received domestic violence services. However, it is during their time in class that they realize they too have been impacted by domestic violence in ways that they had not considered before receiving this much-needed education.”

Among the Crisis Center’s varied offerings are 40-hour domestic violence trainings, which equip people with the foundational knowledge needed to volunteer or work in positions that require direct client contact at domestic violence agencies. From April through June 2020, the Crisis Center conducted 40-hour trainings for 13 participants.

“The potential impact of one changed individual is tremendous,” Ennis-Klyczek said. “During COVID-19, the Crisis Center was able to positively influence 13 people to stand against domestic violence. Those 13 people will model that stance in their families, and those 13 families will then be a better example for their communities.”

She noted that five of the 13 students hold positions of influence at their place of employment, and they stated that they would share their domestic violence education with a total of 315 people, greatly expanding the program’s impact.

Other Crisis Center offerings include Domestic Violence 101, a workshop for individuals and communities to learn more about identifying common signs of domestic abuse, abusive traits and how to help victims of domestic violence. The Crisis Center also offers a domestic violence/sexual assault awareness training for licensed salon professionals such as cosmetologists, hair braiders, estheticians, and nail technicians.

“The Crisis Center appreciates the unique position that salon professionals are in to offer survivors a safe, comfortable, private space to share their concerns and fears, and we are pleased to be able to offer them this learning opportunity,” Ennis-Klyczek said.

The class teaches salon professionals about domestic violence and sexual assault awareness and how to properly support a client who is experiencing violence. Since the pandemic began, Crisis Center staff have conducted 5 domestic violence/sexual assault awareness classes online. On the post-session survey, one salon professional noted that at least 10 people would directly benefit from the training she received.

Over the past few months Crisis Center staff have also been busy crafting new class offerings to broaden their reach and impact.

“One opportunity provided by the pandemic was to look at where we have training gaps, and create programs to fill those gaps,” Ennis-Klyczek said.

As of Jan. 1, 2020, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) requires all licensed professionals who are regulated by IDFPR to attend sexual harassment prevention training. During COVID-19, the Crisis Center began offering this vital training.

Over the course of their research, Crisis Center staff also discovered that one-fifth of employed adults are victims of domestic violence and domestic violence costs U.S. employers $1 billion annually, but more than half of U.S. employers do not have a domestic violence safety and response plan. To address that gap and supplement their existing workplace domestic violence training, the Crisis Center is developing a 90-minute domestic violence and sexual assault awareness educational seminar specifically for human resource professionals and managers.

“Because of what they have already been through, and how their boundaries have already been violated, it can be more difficult for a domestic violence survivor to identify and work through harassment issues in the workplace,” Ennis-Klyczek said. “We want to help companies create a corporate culture that responds appropriately to domestic violence, implement a domestic violence response plan, and operate in accordance with domestic violence legislation.”

This spring the Community Education Department also created and launched a 175-hour program that provides domestic violence advocates with the skills needed to apply for the certified domestic violence professional examination. Participants of this program receive supervised opportunities to engage in volunteer service in a variety of areas including advocacy, hotline/information and referral, and prevention and outreach.

“We are excited to provide advocates this opportunity to advance in their profession,” Ennis-Klyczek said.

Crisis Center staff also provide informational sessions on domestic violence to community organizations, law enforcement agencies, universities and other organizations. To learn more about the Crisis Center’s offerings, including upcoming classes, visit https://www.crisisctr.org/get-educated/educational-opportunities/ or e-mail education@crisisctr.org.