Sexual Assault Centre Contribution Program

Project: Building Accessible Supports and Education
Midland, Ontario
Located near CFB Borden

The Huronia Transition Homes (HTH) project proposed adding to its range of specialized support services for those in the Defence community affected by sexual misconduct. The project also aimed to better integrate HTH with CFB Borden’s support services for those affected by sexual misconduct.

During the funded period, HTH provided counselling services to almost 100 members of the Defence community, initiated activities such as a CAF-Sexual Violence working group and produced several education videos and provided education workshops for CFB Borden staff.

Project: Navigating Systems: Working Together to Support Survivors of Sexual Assault
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Located near CFB Gagetown

Sexual Violence New Brunswick (SVNB) set out to address the needs of those affected by military sexual misconduct by establishing a “Systems Navigator Service Model” for the Greater Fredericton Area. SVNB’s goal was to enhance coordination and collaboration among community-based agencies, relevant provincial government service providers, and CFB Gagetown service providers.

As a result of the Contribution Program funding, SVNB achieved its goal: SVNB supported over 50 Defence community members and launched an array of initiatives such as offering ongoing case management and therapeutic support for survivors of sexual misconduct, collaborating with other organizations, and building community referral networks.

Project: Another Crossing: Building Bridges Between CFB Kingston and Resources for Sexual Violence
Kingston, Ontario
Located near CFB Kingston

Sexual Assault Centre of Kingston (SACK) proposed to improve access to community services for Defence community members affected by sexual misconduct and to build the needed skills and competencies among the Defence community to better support affected community members.

Over the course of their project, SACK directly supported more than 150 Defence community members. Examples of their initiatives include reducing the standard wait time for Defence Team members referred to SACK counsellors, developing resources to disseminate information on gender-based violence and the services offered by SACK, and updating their “Supporting a Survivor” document to be translated and shared with the Defence community and other clients.

Project: Empower #MeToo; Supporting Canada’s Defence Community
Ottawa, Ontario
Supporting CFB Ottawa

The Sexual Assault Support Centre of Ottawa (SASC Ottawa) centred its project on engaging with the Defence community about military sexual violence through outreach and by creating and offering diverse platforms for accessing peer support.

SASC Ottawa offered more than 240 support sessions to survivors of sexual assault and gender-based violence and reached over 50 individuals directly through initiatives like their support groups. Among many other initiatives such as social media campaigns and promotional activities, it offered several public education opportunities such as information-sharing events and a workshop series on their services for CAF community service providers.

Project: Confidential Support for Survivors of Sexual Violence from the CAF Community
Renfrew, Ontario
Located near CFB Petawawa

Women’s Sexual Assault Centre of Renfrew County’s (WSAC) aimed to increase awareness of sexual violence and available civilian supports within the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) community in Renfrew County. To do so, the Centre proposed to create a project partners committee and lead a targeted outreach strategy to reach survivors and service providers, to raise awareness of available services and to improve on-base responses to disclosures of sexual violence.

WSAC provided direct support to nearly 50 Defence community members over their two-year project. The Centre increased its reach to the CAF community through initiatives such as webinars and online workshops on topics such as journaling. They formed part of the CFB Petawawa’s Family Violence Advisory Team (FVAT) which brought together base and sexual violence experts to work collaboratively. They met with the FVAT several times to collectively identify diverse outreach strategies and tools for CFB Petawawa use.

Project: You Are Not Alone
Victoria, British Columbia
Located near CFB Esquimalt

Men’s Therapy Centre (MTC) proposed to provide group programming and individualized services for men affected by sexual misconduct within the Defence community. The Centre also proposed to collaborate with CAF community service providers to raise awareness of men’s experience of sexual misconduct and identify resources available to them.

During the funded period, the MTC supported 14 CAF members in counselling programs and reached over 1,000 individuals through outreach. Among its initiatives, the MTC developed mental health resources for social media and on-paper distribution, an online self-guided post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) course, and hired facilitators for specialized education and healing.

Project: Halifax Sexual Assault Community Support Network
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Supporting CFB Halifax

Avalon’s objectives centred on further integrating CAF service providers with local support networks to identify and reduce barriers regarding information and support services, increase communication and care coordination, improve service delivery competency, strengthen the referral process, and reduce the risk of re-traumatization for victims/survivors.

Avalon met its objectives by undertaking outreach and community events such as with a local women’s Chaplain Group, hosting a summer BBQ, participating in Camp Courage Halifax, and hosting a community roundtable. During the project period, Avalon also provided therapeutic counselling to 48 Defence community individuals.