Creating a Safe Haven: Domestic Violence Church Certification Program
Why participate in the Creating a Safe Haven Church Certification Program?
At Safe Haven, we understand how difficult it can be to know how to best support victims and survivors of domestic abuse, but we also understand the important role the church plays in supporting those affected by this type of violence.
Did you know that survivors of domestic violence are more likely to disclose their experience with abuse to pastors and ministry leaders than any other helping profession?
Our church training program creates a safe space for faith leaders to develop supportive skills, create concrete response plans, and feel supported in times of crisis.
This training is applicable for pastors and ministry leaders, but also lay individuals that are called to learn more and provide more support in times of crisis.
“Pastors tend to ignore domestic violence if they can. Having been a pastor before I became a chaplain, I understand why, remembering my own discomfort. I felt unsure of what to do and fearful of making a bad situation worse. It was so easy to do nothing.”
-Rev. Kathryn Willoughby Weed
Church Certification
Creating a Safe Haven is the first-of-its-kind program designed to help faith communities receive comprehensive domestic violence training develop a plan for how they would respond in cases of domestic violence in their congregation. The certification process ensures that leadership and lay people of the church have the tools they need to work with an individual or family faced with this crisis. It also helps them develop policies and procedures on how to respond if someone in the congregation or staff is a victim or perpetrator of domestic violence.
Core Components
There are two primary components of the certification program:
- In-person training: An opportunity for pastors and ministry to develop tangible skills and knowledge. We know your time is valuable, we have perfected a one-day training that will leave you more confident and prepared in your response and prevention of domestic violence.
- Domestic Violence Response Plan: Rooted in policy and procedures, Safe Haven will design and train you on your domestic violence response plan. This plan will ensure that should you encounter an issue involving domestic violence, you are equipped and confident in your response.
**Note: due to COVID-19, we are currently not scheduling any in-person trainings. However, churches can still elect to go through the training portion of the program virtually. Churches that have decided on a virtual platform, usually decide to spread the training across 2-3 days (i.e. 3 hours/day) to best meet the scheduling needs and learning styles of their congregants. For more information on this, please contact Tara at taday@shmgr.org
Training Overview
One of the largest components of certification is 7-hour training. Participants can attend one of three annual trainings, or for larger churches, schedule a private training. Who attends the training is up to the church, but it is usually comprised of a group of 8-14, which includes staff that volunteer/ministry leaders of the church.
Training covered during training include:
- Domestic violence behaviors
- Supporting victims & surviors
- Issues of faith & domestic violence
- Safety planning for victims & the church
- Referring & issues of confidentiality
- Responding to & supporting abusers
Cost & Dates
Upcoming Trainings
Due to COVID-19, all in-person trainings have been put on hold.
We are still scheduling private virtual trainings for churches that wish to go through the program before Summer 2021.
Our hope is that our next cohort of churches will go through an in-person program in early Fall 2021.
If you are interested in scheduling a private, virtual training before then or wish to simply explore options, please fill out Request More Information form or email Tara at taday@shmgr.org
Thank you!
- Private, virtual training fee scale dependent on congregation size.
- A private training is defined as a church that wishes to go through the program, including the training component, outside of our existing cohorts. Advantages of a private training include the ability of the church to set the date and timeline of the training. The church is also allowed to included a larger group of individuals in the training portion of the program.
- Fee for private trainings are based on church size, number of participants and training schedule.
- Pre-COVID, a majority of churches participated in the Church Certification program as part of a cohort. A cohort is usually comprised of 3-5 churches that go through the program simultaneously. Churches still receive individualized work on their policies and procedures, but go through the 8-hour training with the other churches in their cohort.
- Cohort fee based on regular adult participants. Attendees* refers to the number of individuals the church sends to the 8-hour training:
- 1-49 adult congregants (up to 3 attendees*): $200
- 50-149 adult congregants (up to 6 attendees*):$450
- 150-399 adult congregants (up to 10 attendees*): $600
- 400-999 adult congregants (up to 13 attendees*):$850
- 1000+ adult congregants (up to 18 attendees*): $1250
- Payment plans available
*Churches participating in a cohort are welcome to bring additional attendees to the training at $30/person, which covers the costs of supplies and meals.
Request More Information About the Certification
Register for Upcoming Certification
For church members that are already enrolled in the Church Certification program, please click the Register for Training. By registering, you are letting us know that you are participating in the upcoming training.
Don’t see your church listed in the registration form? Contact Tara at taday@shmgr.org
If you are interested in an upcoming training, but have not enrolled in the program yet, please use the for above, Request More Information About the Certification, to get the process started.
Note: you should only register for a training if your church is already enrolled in the program. If you do not see your church listed in the registration form, it is likely because you are not enrolled in the program yet. Please fill out the form Request More Information About the Certification to begin the enrollment process.
