Over the years, CVIC has encouraged unprecedented levels of community involvement in our vision of nonviolence and created programs that address the core needs of those seeking to escape violence. Some highlights in recent years include:

New programs to meet community need
CVIC has made great progress in developing a long-term safety net for those impacted by violence, reaching far beyond the initial crisis, and in implementing a comprehensive five-program approach to violence prevention and intervention that addresses safety, advocacy, empowerment, justice, treatment and education.  In 1999, CVIC successfully completed an historic $1.95 million capital campaign that provided for the Light of Hope Shelter, Wishing Well Child Visitation Program, career counseling and new offices.  In 2004, CVIC was awarded two major federal grants:  one to initiate transitional housing and support for families who are homeless because of violence, and another to establish much-needed legal representation and support for victims of violence. 

Enhanced collaboration and advocacy
We strongly believe that the responsibility for ending violence falls upon the community as a whole, and not upon individual victims of violence.  To involve the community in crafting meaningful solutions, CVIC spearheads major collaborative efforts that advocate for change, including the Coordinated Community Response Project, involving a cross-section of professionals working to effect changes in policies and practices and improve the system’s response to domestic violence, and the DELTA Project, a collaborative, multi-level project designed to prevent first-time intimate partner violence by changing community attitudes and risk factors.

Increased community awareness
A primary step in ending violence is raising community awareness, training professionals to effectively respond and encouraging all community members to become advocates for peace.  Because of our work, violence is no longer a marginal issue, but has become part of the professional and community mainstream – something that previously was only a dream. Every year, we reach thousands of individuals with our message.