Every day teachers in our school system see children who are exposed to violence in their homes and/or communities. These children are not only at risk of being harmed by the violence, but are likely to continue the cycle of violence by acting out their frustrations in the manner that has been modeled to them. Family Services’ Respect, Safety, and Violence Prevention (RSVP) Program provides counseling to children and youth between the ages of 9 and 18 who are at risk of being involved in abusive relationships. The program works toward breaking the cycle of violence by teaching children how to have healthy personal relationships and providing support to family members.

The team revamped the board structure and put formal governing procedures in place to ensure all activities were run with the utmost integrity. With multiple programs spread across many different locations in the city, the team also developed a facilities management plan to ensure that the organization was realizing the greatest benefit from multiple leases and rental properties. With these and other organizational tweaks completed, the team developed a persuasive value proposition for presentation to the province.

With secured funding for the RSVP program, the Family Services team quickly began to expand programming to reach more children. With the support of BC SVP funding, Family Services was soon able to secure $300,000 in funding for three years from the National Crime Prevention Strategy – a funder that explicitly requires matching funds from other sources. With the support of these two substantial funders, the RSVP program garnered $55,000 from four additional charitable foundations. With additional funding, the RSVP program was able to double the number of children that receive violence prevention training. Each year, nearly 600 children and youth benefit from a program that can help break the cycle of violence in our community.

http://www.fsgv.ca/