This March, the Community Coordination for Survivor Safety (CCSS) Team piloted Community Coordination Leadership Training in Kelowna with EVA BC member programs from Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon and Salmon Arm. The goal of the training is to provide anti-violence workers with foundational skills and knowledge to lead gender-based violence community coordination initiatives.
The CCSS Team developed this new three-day in-person training with support from an advisory committee made up of a diverse group of experienced frontline anti-violence workers who identified key issues and challenges in community coordination and provided critical feedback on the course content.
Eighteen anti-violence workers participated in the pilot which featured a mixture of presentation, discussions, videos, self-reflection and group activities.
Wendy Potter, CCSS Director, and Andrea Lam, CCSS Program Lead, co-facilitated the training. Andrea shared, “We’re so incredibly grateful to have such an engaged group of anti-violence workers participate in the pilot. They were so generous with sharing their knowledge and experience in community coordination which enhanced the learning for everyone.”
Pilot participants shared valuable constructive feedback throughout the training that will be used to enhance the course content and delivery for future sessions.
The CCSS team received positive feedback on the training including comments like these:
“This is great training for folks newer to community coordination: it gives lots of great ideas on how to motivate and improve the effectiveness of community coordination.”
“I really enjoyed the wrap-around style training – it touched a lot of topics and had very engaging exercises.”
“Thank you to the CCSS Team – they have all put in a lot of hard work getting this training in place!”
Next Steps
The CCSS team is in the process of incorporating pilot participant feedback into the training materials. They will also apply for funding to support the development of a Coordination Leadership Toolkit to supplement the training.
EVA BC plans to offer The Power of Collaboration: Foundations of Community Coordination Leadership to EVA BC member programs on an annual basis beginning next year. For more information, contact ccss@endingviolence.org.
