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SPAA
Organization Plan
Mission statement
Support for People Accused of Abuse (SPAA) is an organization of men and
women who have been accused of being abusive. We believe that whether
"guilty as charged" or "not guilty" or something in between,
people accused of abuse need and deserve help too. Our mission is to help the
accused get what they need so they can avoid some of the mistakes we made and so
they don't have to navigate this treacherous path alone. We offer referrals to
professionals, answer legal questions, provide housing if needed, and a chance
to tell their side of the story to others who have been through it. Our success
will keep people out of jail and on the road to recovery.
Objectives
Short range: To run a self help group in Wakefield, MA for people
accused of being abusive by their partners. We envision it as a community
service project made up of volunteers who help each other through the process.
Weekly groups will be run like AA (alcoholics anonymous) meetings. Attendance
will be voluntary and attendees can choose to remain anonymous. Cost will be
covered by donations.
Goals include:
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Help people accused of abuse to find the support they need. We expect
that this will provide needed options so they are less likely to act out in
criminal or self-destructive ways.
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Provide accused people with legal and counseling referrals.
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To see a significant decrease in the number of people arrested for
violating restraining orders.
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Provide effective early intervention to reduce the number of severe
cases of abuse.
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Provide a "maintenance program" to reduce the incidence of
repeat battering for "batterers" who have served their punishment
or gone through batterer treatment programs.
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Help people begin to look at how they may have been abusive. (The
feed-back we get from programs based on the Duluth
model suggests that accused people do not use this form of
"treatment" unless court mandated-- less than 5% of enrollees are
volunteers. Family therapists attempt to explain this by asserting that
abusive people are in strong denial and are not looking for treatment. We
believe a volunteer, anonymous program based on the AA model of dealing with
denial should prove far more effective than what is in place today.)
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Using peer pressure to encourage people to change attitudes and
behaviors so they don't repeat their abuse with subsequent partners.
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Long-range objectives: Using the experience in Wakefield as a model,
to encourage the establishment of similar self-help groups in every community.
Collect data on the effectiveness of this approach. Coordinate data collection
and referrals via this web page.
Goals include:
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Research the effect on domestic violence of providing accused people
with a volunteer self-help program.
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Serve as a resource center for others doing research and program design
for domestic violence.
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Provide counseling referrals for individuals and families.
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Provide legal and mediation referrals for families needing to separate.
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Refer children for counseling while going through the trauma of
separation, divorce and domestic violence. help guide public policy and law
makers so victims can be better protected, the accused better treated, and
more families preserved.
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Raise the public consciousness regarding the effects of coercion,
violence and control on intimate relationships.
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Our first steps
We will begin our project by offering accused people a "drop in"
center. Wednesday night between 7:30 and 9:00pm, we will meet in Wakefield, MA.
Our meetings will allow each person an opportunity to bond with others going
through a similar experience and to feel understood. We will answer questions
and make referrals as appropriate. We will offer support to try to keep the
accused from violating restraining orders and from engaging in other
self-destructive behavior. We envision the group conducted like AA groups. We
will use the experiences in this group to build a community model that can be
offered in other areas. There will be no cost but people may make a donation if
they wish. Anyone who has been accused of being abusive to their partner or
their children is welcome to attend. Anonymity will be respected and we will be
on a first name basis only.
Building membership
How do we get accused people to attend Wednesday night groups
in Wakefield?
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Accused People (AP) are referred by a trusted friend or family member.
We have had a lot of success with mother's getting our information then
referring their sons.
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Members put up flyers at their local hang outs and on cars. Laundromats
have been a good place.
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Members can actively recruit: send letters to restraining order
recipients (lists are posted in court house and arrest records published in
the local paper)
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Hand out cards in court rooms.
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AP referred by the abused partner.
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Friendly advise to join SPAA from local police.
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Police stations can post our flyer.
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Friendly advise from Probation Officers--SPAA will help AP comply with
court orders.
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Direct mailings to attorneys, couples' therapists, priests, ministers,
and rabbis.
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Presentations to local organizations such as ELKS, Sons of Italy, West
Side Club, K of C, Rotary and health clubs.
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Media--press release, free ads, op/ed articles, local cable TV.
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Presentations at schools.
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Visit victim advocates--SPAA can be recommended by victim advocates as a
"fall back position" should the advocate be unable to get a victim
to file a restraining order.
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Judges--As an adjunct to batterer treatment. Make no claims that SPAA is
a diversionary program. It should not be thought of as a substitute for
punishment or batterer treatment programs.
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Batterer treatment programs--SPAA like AA can be used like a maintenance
program to reinforce some of the lessons learned in Batterer treatment.
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Prison counselors--SPAA will serve as a "transition" program
and to support a life of non-violence.
If you have some thoughts this project, please send us email, we would like
your feed back.
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