Building Bridges: Linking Woman Abuse, Substance Use and Mental Ill Health
In 2006, the Woman Abuse Response Program launched the initiative ‘Building Bridges: Linking Woman Abuse, Substance Use and Mental Ill Health.’ The goals of this provincial initiative are to:
- Increase knowlege and training about the intersection of violence, substance use and mental ill health, grounded in women's voices and lived experiences
- Encourage and foster cross-sectoral dialogue within and across the Mental Health, Addictions and Anti-Violence sectors
- Build individual and community capacity to better support women impacted by violence, substance use and mental ill health
Women impacted by violence, addictions, and mental ill health are already vulnerable yet are placed at increased risk due to the lack of appropriate support and service options in BC. Despite the fact that women impacted by these intersecting issues are often more marginalized and vulnerable, their help-seeking histories are often lengthy and complicated, many times being denied access to a service because of the existence of the other issues in her life. Such women are less likely to receive effective, relevant services which address the intersecting issues in their lives. They become trapped in a constant cycle of referral between services, rarely receiving the integrated support they require.
To redress these serious service gaps, in 2008 the Woman Abuse Response Program at BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre conducted a province-wide consultation with over 460 service providers (representing 82 BC communities) from the anti-violence, addictions and mental health sectors and focus groups with 140 women (in 17 communities) impacted by these intersecting issues. Service barriers, promising practices, policy and research gaps have been identified. The preliminary results of this research have been presented via videoconference to 22 sites across BC and to a group of 40 provincial stakeholders and in the past 18 months we have traveled to 14 communities to provide knowledge translation and best practice workshops. A Framework for Policy and Practice is in final stages of completion. This project was funded by Vancouver Foundation, Momentum and BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre.
This page provides information about all Building Bridges events, initiatives, and resources. Please check back often for updates.
Upcoming Events
We will be facilitating Building Bridges workshops in the following communities in the upcoming months:
Vernon, BC
May 11th, 2011
9:00am-4:30pm
For more information click here (.pdf)
Prince George, BC
May 25th & 26th, 2011
9:30am-4:30pm
For more information click here (.pdf)
Haida Gwaii, BC
June 7, 8 & 9, 2011
Email Amy for more details stv.hgspeace@mhtv.ca
Building Bridges Workshops 2011
Do you want to organize a Building Bridges workshop in your community? We are now taking requests to facilitate Building Bridges workshops in communities around BC for Fall and Winter 2011. We can offer these workshops at no or low cost, depending on the location.
This interactive workshop will provide the opportunity for service providers within all sectors, including health, addictions, mental health, anti-violence, justice and child welfare to explore how these issues intersect to create risks to women’s health and safety and add barriers to accessing services. In addition to discussing local issues and brainstorming solutions, attendees will have the opportunity to hear the findings from the recently completed Building Bridges provincial consultation with service providers and women. Challenges, gaps, and barriers in service delivery and recommendations on how to develop an integrated multi-sectoral community approach to improve services for women will be explored. If you would like more information please contact Alexxa at 604-875-3717 or aajaoude@cw.bc.ca
Past events
Building Bridges Symposium
8:30am-11:30am
May 31st, 2010
BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre (or Via Video Conference)
Come participate in this information sharing event to review research and Building Bridges consultation findings. You will also have the chance to hear from leading researchers and practitioners in this field and learn about current initiatives in BC that are addressing these intersecting concerns for women.
For more information click here
Powerpoint Presentations
Please click on each presenter's name to access the powerpoints.
Jill Cory: Building Bridges- Findings and Gaps
Debby Hamilton: Challenges
Nancy Poole: Gender-informed practice and young girls
Amy Salmon: FASD
Jill Cory: Building Bridges- Guiding Principles and Recommendations
Marina Morrow: CGSM
Shabna Ali: Reducing Barriers
Sarah Payne: Sheway
Betty Poag: Herway Home
Building Bridges Resources
Building Bridges Consultation Summary Report 2010 (pdf)
This summary document provides background information on the Building Bridges initiative and presents the preliminary findings from the provincial consultation with service providers and women impacted by abuse and mental ill health and/or substance use. The project is lead by the Woman Abuse Response Program, a provincial program of BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre. These findings will form the basis of discussion and planning for the upcoming Building Bridges Symposium and Stakeholder meeting. A final report will be released in the Fall 2010, presenting a framework for enhanced service provision, programming and policy to support women impacted by the overlapping concerns of woman abuse and substance use and/ or mental ill health.
Building Bridges: Linking Woman Abuse, Substance Use and Mental Ill Health; Summary Report 2008 (pdf)
by Louise Godard, Jill Cory and Alexxa Abi-Jaoude. Based on research, practice and women’s narratives confirming that violence is pervasive and central to the development of substance use and mental ill health, we identified the need for direction and action to improve services that support women’s safety and health. This initiative aims to explore the complexities and links between gender based violence, substance use and mental health; explore how these issues impact service delivery and practice; identify the gaps in service provision; and identify and problem solve ways to reduce access and service delivery barriers. This is achieved through province wide discussions, consultations and educational forums with community and health partners to further our knowledge and develop a provincial strategy.
Tools for Integration: Concepts (Quicklinks 1-12) (pdf)
One of the outcomes of our Building Bridges consultations is the Tools for Integration. This toolkit has been developed in partnership with the Interior Health and Violence Network. This document is in draft form and throughout the year will be updated after receiving feedback from workshop participants around the province. This first set of Quicklinks is meant to be a brief overview of the main concepts that are discussed through Building Bridges. These concepts build the foundation for working across sectors to improve service provision for women impacted by woman abuse, substance use and/or mental ill health.
Tools for Intergration: Part II- Actions (Quicksteps 1-12) (pdf)
Tools for Integration: Actions will provide you and your colleagues with practical tools and resources called QuickSteps. The 12 QuickSteps will assist you to work towards improving provider, agency and community responses by taking you through a series of exercises and processes designed to support collaborative and multi-disciplinary actions leading to integrated, violence-informed, women-centred practices, services and policy for women impacted by violence, substance use and mental ill health.
The Harms of Help: Exploring Women's Experiences with Anti-Violence, Addictions and Mental Health Services within British Columbia (2011)
by Lauren Wallace. Despite the intention of the anti-violence, addictions and mental health sectors to enhance women's health and safety, research has revealed that these services can unintentionally cause harm. This qualitative study used focus groups to explore, understand and describe the harms of BC's anti-violence, addictions and mental health services from the unique and varied perspectives of women who have experiences of abuse, substance use and mental health issues. Five themes of service harms emerged. Exclusion from services undermined women's ability to escape high-risk situations; contact with services triggered women's substance use; mistreatment from service providers created a barrier to help-seeking; inattention to women's experiences of abuse made services unreflective of women's needs; and child apprehension directly contributed to mother's use of substances.
Other Helpful Resources
BC Society of Transition Houses: Reducing Barriers to Support for Women who Experience Violence
BCSTH has received funding from Status of Women Canada to reduce barriers to support for women who experience violence and who have varying levels of mental wellness and substance use. This research-based project will involve the development, publication and implementation of a Promising Practices Tool Kit and curriculum for Service Providers.
http://bcsth.ca/content/reducing-barriers-support-women-who-experience-violence
BC Society of Transition Houses: Report on Violence Against Women, Mental Health and Substance Use
This report is the summary of a review conducted for the Canadian Women’s Foundation to enhance the grant making, analyze emerging trends, and understand the current philanthropic environment of services for women who have experienced violence and who have mental health and substance use concerns. http://bcsth.ca/content/womens-services-1
Canada Northwest FASD Research Network
The Canada Northwest FASD Researcg Network (CanFASD Northwest) aims to build research capacity across Western Canada and the Territories to address high priority research questions, to devise more effective prevention and support strategies for women, for individuals with FASD and their families, and to better inform policy. http://www.canfasd.ca/
Coalescing on Substance Use, Violence and Pregnancy
The Coalescing on Women and Substance Use: Linking Research Practice and Policy project promotes online “virtual” discussions on six key topics related to women's substance use in Canada. Its aim is to build consensus on approaches to improving Canadian services, research and policy in these areas. Information sheets, resources, links and PowerPoint presentations are available on their website: http://www.coalescing-vc.org/
Freedom From Violence: Tools for Working with Trauma, Mental Health and Substance Use (BC Association of Specialized Victim Assistance and Counselling Programs)
Available for download at: http://www.endingviolence.org/node/459 and hard copies are available for $30 through the organization
Here to Help
The organization Here to Help has created a series of resources on mental health and substance use in other languages: Arabic, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Farsi/Dari, French, Korean, Spanish, Russian, Punjabi, Vietnamese. You can access them here: http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/other-languages
"Me, I'm Living it": The Primary Health Care Experiences of Women who use Drugs in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
The VANDU Women’s Clinic Action Research for Empowerment Project was a qualitative Participatory Action Research project aimed at understanding and improving the primary health care experiences of women who use illicit drugs in the DTES. The research partnership was created to address concerns raised by the VANDU Women’s Group about women’s experiences of primary health care in a context of multiple emerging policy and service reforms. http://www.whri.org/newsandevents/documents/VanduClinic-web.pdf
Contact Details
If you are interested in being added to our email distribution list or have questions, please contact us at 604-875-3717 or aajaoude@cw.bc.ca
Last Updated: April 27, 2011