Caledon/Dufferin Victim Services

Sharing Recipient Stories

2023 Dufferin County Community Grant Recipient
$5,425

Sharing our grant story

Every victim matters. Our focus at CDVS is to ensure that whether longstanding community members, new to our community or affected by an incident while just passing through, everyone especially the most vulnerable, have the supports, information and referrals they need when they need it most. This project helped provide connection, training and resource awareness to Caledon\Dufferin Victim Services staff and Crisis Responders, to better respond to the unique issues faced by individuals and communities in Dufferin experiencing hate related violence and especially underserviced & marginalized individuals.

With a client base that is rapidly growing; and a larger proportion of that new growth now coming from new immigrants, the BIPOC and the 2SLGBTQ+ community, we need all the training tools and the practical resources to heighten our cultural sensibilities and deliver a fairer, more informed interaction with the local community we both serve, and are so deeply invested in. Through this grant, CDVS was able to host the Canadian Anti-Hate Network workshop attended by more than 45 staff, crisis responders, victim services & community service partners, police, & counsellors. During this comprehensive training, new supports and resources for victims of hate related violence were identified and shared. Crisis responders learned from the lived experience of victims and strategies were shared to form lasting connections with marginalized communities and the agencies striving to serve them.

Grant funds were also used to create & distribute information about CDVS services specifically geared to victims of hate related violence. A newspaper campaign reached over 32,500 households and a targeted social media campaign advertised our services through the platforms of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Our Hate Has No Home Here rack cards were distributed to the Dufferin community and police. A mailout campaign distributed over 60 packages to police and social services partners, schools and youth serving agencies, indigenous & BIPOC partner agencies, VQRP+ counsellors, community centers, foodbanks, libraries, arenas & welcome centers across Dufferin County. Outreach continues to strengthen our capacity to support/ educate our community, which ultimately helps us in reaching more victims & their families.