Tubman

Programs: Residential servicestwo shelters with a total of 130 beds for victims of family violence are located in st. Paul park and minneapolis, mn. Women and their children escaping a violent home receive food and a safe place to live on a short term basis until they secure more permanent housing. Tubman staff, interns and volunteers assist families in building violence-free lives through measurable support services such as safety planning, housing information and resources, health assessments, counseling, orders for protection and other legal services, financial and career information, educational programs, parenting support, and family activities. Access to cultural and spiritual support, a health clinic, crime victim emergency funds, and reparation claims information are also provided. Tubman has been awarded federal funding to increase staff expertise in serving victims with brain injuries, and is working with the brain injury association of minnesota to enhance both agencies' capacity to meet the unique needs of these victims. Transitional housing and support services for families moving toward stability includes ten affordable housing units for families and one shared unit for single adults for up to two years. Staff, interns, and volunteers assist clients in finding permanent affordable housing, provide transportation assistance for critical appointments and job interviews, and help address long-term transportation needs. The team helps clients develop customized education, career, and financial goals as well as provide individual and group support related to family violence, child development, parenting issues, family communication, and problem solving. Services also include referrals to numerous community services and health care, and a small emergency financial assistance fund for those who have exhausted all other resources.

counseling & therapy services:mental health services are provided via a state licensed rule 29 outpatient community mental health center staffed by licensed professionals and graduate students from a variety of clinical disciplines including social work, psychology, nursing with prescriptive privileges, marriage and family therapy, professional counseling, and psychiatry. Services include individual, couples, family and group therapy. Issues addressed include anxiety, depression, abuse and trauma, sexuality, parenting, child behavioral concerns, relationship endings, and family functioning and related family concerns. Crisis counseling and short-term therapy is also available for residents at each residential site. In addition, tubman provides a medication clinic for people participating in our mental/chemical health programs, or who are working with a partner agency. Drop-in therapy groups and peer support groups are also available to women experiencing both mental and chemical health issues. Chemical dependency treatment is provided through a state licensed rule 31 outpatient program. Tubman's is a non-traditional, gender-specific program for women struggling with substance abuse and dependency. Services include co-occurring disorders (serving women with a dual diagnosis of chemical dependency and mental illness, now recognized as a best practice by the state of minnesota), case management and state licensed rule 25 chemical dependency assessments. Some chemical health services are also available to men and youth. Holistic counseling and therapeutic support are provided for self-referred and court-ordered family violence offenders. Tubman's domestic violence counseling program is nationally recognized as being highly effective and is designed to serve men and women who have been abusive that want to end their violent behavior and maintain healthy relationships. Services include an 18-week group curriculum led by master's level therapists and individual counseling. Couples counseling is available when requested by both parties after individual treatment has been completed. Safety is assessed before and continually during couples' treatment.

legal services:critical legal services are provided by legal advocates, staff and volunteer attorneys, and legal interns to more than 3,600 individuals each year. Attorneys and advocates help family violence victims obtain life-saving orders for protection, securing more than 850 annually, and advocates provide needed support to over 1,500 victims in criminal court proceedings. Attorneys, assisted by law student and paralegal interns, provide legal representation, advice, and information primarily in family law matters, assisting families through difficult life transitions to a safe and stable future. The lethality assessment project is a partnership between tubman and the criminal justice system agencies of washington county. The goal of the project is to reduce domestic violence homicides, serious injury and re-assault in washington county through a coordinated criminal justice system approach that identifies high risk offenders, immediately connects victims in high danger to domestic violence services, makes risk assessment information readily available to be considered by the courts in decisions relating to bail and pre-trial release, and provides enhanced supervision of high risk offenders.

children & youth services:services for youth in residential programs include: individual support, safety planning, goal planning, age-specific support groups and recreational activities, respite child care, assistance with homework and school transitions, dating violence prevention, conflict resolution skills, family activities, and resource referral. Community-based programs for children and youth include limited drop-in child care for parents receiving other on-site services. Age-specific support groups for children and teens who have witnessed domestic violence, grief and loss, and other changes in their families are provided for youth living in the community and in shelter. A related component includes workshops for separating parents and their children, designed to develop or re-establish supportive parent/child relationships. Students interested in serving as peer advisors and community activists can join tubman's movement-for-violence-prevention (mvp), which teaches and refines students' skills to take a stand against relationship violence. The program uses interactive media to shape and deliver teen-generated content to families, schools, and faith communities. Tubman also works with teens to develop multimedia content for mydefinition. Org, a platform where youth participants can create and share videos, music, blogs, and other types of creative communications in support of their anti-violence objectives. Voices-in-prevention (vip) is a school-based violence prevention program for adolescents in the 7th-12th grades. This culturally relevant and technologically savvy curriculum provides students with the tools to recognize the signs of abuse and develop healthy dating relationships. Taught by tubman youth educators, the program serves students in public, alternative, and private schools in minneapolis, saint paul, and throughout suburban ramsey and washington counties. Services also include groups, mentorship to high-risk youth, web-based support, educator training, and teacher consultations. Youth and young adults program (yaya) is a program serving females and males between the ages of 13-24 who are survivors of dating violence, assault, stalking, or domestic violence with an intimate partner. Tubman secured federal funding to meet the specific needs of this under-served group in partnership with the link. Staff meet with clients wherever they are staying or at a community location, help them access appropriate resources including tubman's legal network, and support them in attaining their own goals for a safe, stable, and violence-free life. Sustainability services are provided by tubman staff, interns, and professional volunteers in the community and offer a range of opportunities for people seeking to make and sustain changes in their lives. These services are designed to help participants meet their basic needs during crisis, remain self-sufficient during transition, and prevent future crises and maintain stability in the face of economic and life challenges. Sustainability services are offered to any client, regardless of their point of entry into the organization. These services are available to everyone in the community, whether or not they are participating in other tubman programs. Tubman's elder care & rights center was formed through the 2011 merger with eldercare rights alliance, which brought critical expertise related to elder abuse and neglect-a population whose needs are regrettably growing across all program areas-and a history of helping change laws to protect seniors and enhance their way of life. The center provides a wide array of resources and services to seniors across the state of mn and their caregivers. Specializing in elder abuse prevention and intervention, education is provided to seniors, family members and professionals in nursing homes and care centers, colleges, churches and other community settings. Resource workshop topics include family violence, consumer rights and financial exploitation, caregiver support, grief and loss, safety tips, vulnerable adults and mandated reporting, communication techniques for elders living with dementia, and more. The center also supports resident and family councils in nursing homes across the state of mn. Resource counseling & a 24-hour crisis line provides around the clock emotional support and connection to resources within the agency or in the community for a wide range of issues. Community advocates are available in person or by telephone, with or without an appointment. Support groups offer a forum for women to connect with others experiencing similar challenges and changes in order to find encouragement, share coping strategies, and build a support network. Topics include family violence, uncoupling, coming out/lesbian support, post-abortion support, stress and self-esteem, mental health support, and peer support for women in recover. Financial education includes workshops teaching basic math skills, monthly money management, understanding debt and credit, as well as individual financial counseling. Career workshops offer practical strategies to help participants choose a career path and work toward getting the job or education they want. Course content focuses on resume development, job search, interview coaching, professional communication, and career exploration. Housing workshops are offered on the topics of tenant rights and responsibilities, finding safe and affordable housing, and foreclosure prevention resources. Harriet's closet provides new or gently used professional clothing, accessories, shoes and purses to help women feel confident as they interview and begin employment or attend court proceedings. Public education services:tubman's community education programs include a regional radio public service announcement campaign to raise awareness of the impact that trauma has on families and the community as well as provide information on how to get help and give help. Other agency resources include the comprehensive website tubman. Org, a speakers' bureau for faith and civic groups, workplace training opportunities, and community events. Tubman is regularly called upon to conduct training for professionals, including those in the fields of education, law enforcement and legal services, healthcare, senior programs and other service providers. Topics include parenting issues; child development; family violence; trauma-informed service delivery; resources to support seniors and prevent elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation; and specialized mental and chemical health therapies. Tubman partners with colleges and universities to provide quality learning opportunities to students in and out of the classroom, serving as a field placement for an average of 150 students per year from a variety of disciplines. Tubman staff also serves as adjunct faculty, guest lecturers, and research committee advisors. Evaluation:tubman demonstrates our commitment to continuous program improvement and better client outcomes by measuring individual success through client surveys and feedback and staff reporting. Some programs us professionally-designed qualitative and quantitative evaluation tools to measure outcomes. Clients, staff, interns, volunteers, community partners, other service providers, funders, and community members are all involved in the evaluation process. Their feedback is used to improve program policies, procedures and services to more effectively meet client and community needs. We track trends in community services and unmet needs and often receive requests from other organizations to develop and provide new services in collaboration. Tubman shares outcomes and agency and program accomplishments through newsletters, presentations, facebook and updates on our website. For specific programs, client outcomes and program results are shared in different ways. For example, youth post anti-violence messages they have designed on tubman's social media pages and youth-focused mydefinition. Org website.