Programs for Young People | DVCS

What we do Our Young Peoples Outreach Program helps with the wellbeing and recovery of children and young people who have been exposed to domestic and family violence, either as witnesses or direct victims. We work with children between the ages of 5 – 13 who are showing certain behaviours as a result of the trauma of their experiences. These may be outward behaviours, such as re-enacting violent or abusive behaviours, disruptions at school, problems with peers and friends; or inward behaviours, such as becoming more withdrawn, quiet, problems connecting with friends and family, disinterest in activities they previously enjoyed. We recognise that children are part of a family and we seek to engage the whole family. For the program to be effective, both parents and children need to want to engage and the situation at home needs to be safe. If the situation is deemed one that our outreach program isn’t suitable for, we will assist you to identify other strategies or services that may be more helpful to your family’s situation. How we help Our first priority is to build positive, trusting and safe relationships with the children and their families. We do this by engaging each child in their interests and sharing new experiences with them, either at home or in the community. We can also work closely with their school and teachers. Once a positive and safe relationship is established, and the child is ready, we invite them to have a conversation about their experiences at home and the strategies they have used to be safe. This helps the child to identify personal strengths and resiliencies. The key areas we focus on include:

• healthy relationships
• confidence and self-esteem
• building trust
• non-violent ways of responding
• anti-bullying
• coping strategies
• respect
• exploring new skills and interests.

We also develop support networks so that each child continues to have access to ongoing support after the program. What does it cost These services are provided free of charge. Contact us To access our young people’s outreach program call our 24/7 crisis telephone line 02 6280 0900. If it isn’t urgent another contact option is to email crisis@dvcs.org.au; this email is only monitored during business hours. You are welcome to call us reverse charges. If you live outside the ACT please call 1800RESPECT. We do not make any sound recordings of our conversations. You do not need to give us your name, but if you do we make notes that we spoke to you. If you are unsure, please let us know at the start of the call and we can tell you about our confidentiality policy. Funding DVCS acknowledges, with thanks, the funding received from the ACT Office for Women which allows children and young people who are part of our programs to participate in a variety of activities via Project CAFE.