Trainings

For Greater Boston Community Leaders

Domestic violence (also known as Intimate Partner Violence or IPV) is a pattern of abuse where one person exerts power and control over another in an intimate relationship. The abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, verbal, financial or spiritual.

Wondering where you or your congregation can get training or resources about faith and abuse? Who you can talk to about a relationship in your congregation that might be abusive? Where you can get additional information about elder abuse and faith?

Safe Havens provides training, resources, and technical assistance for faith leaders (clergy and lay) throughout the Greater Boston area. We’ve trained more than 400 Boston area faith leaders, and we’d be happy to help you. Give us a call at (617) 951-3980 or email us at info@interfaithpartners.org with your questions.

Local

What are people saying about our Greater Boston trainings?

"I wanted to let you know how honored and blessed I felt to have been able to be at your training. It was passionate, beautiful, and stuck to the core. I learned so much that day! Thank you again."

"Thank you for the incredible work you accomplish to bring sanctuary to the lives of so many women, children, and men. We deeply appreciate your work."

"I am touched, I am grateful, and I am in awe of the work you do. Thank you!"

"Your strong commitment and grace-filled presentation moved us all. We expect to build on what we heard from you, and also to reach out with words of Safe Havens."

Staying Safe with Faith
Volunteer Program

Safe Havens is building a movement where faith leaders and communities stand up, with a strong and unified voice, and say "No More!" to domestic violence and elder abuse. We believe building a coordinated-community response that focuses on prevention and safety is vital. In order to make this dream a reality, we need your help!

Join Safe Havens in our work to end abuse! We are looking for congregations that are interested in multi-religious efforts to expand awareness and education on domestic violence and elder abuse. If you are interested in participating in our Staying Safe with Faith Volunteer Program, please fill out this short form.

Safe Havens is actively recruiting congregational teams in the Greater Boston area to participate in our Staying Safe with Faith program. Each congregational team will consist of a lay leader and two to three members of the congregation. Together, this core of dedicated volunteers will spearhead efforts to transform their own faith community into a “safe haven.” Our volunteers will begin to enact this transformation by participating in 4 virtual trainings that will strengthen their understanding about:

Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse through a Lens of Faith,
Trauma and Response Skills,
Community Connections and Partnership, and
Prevention in Your Community.

In addition to our trainings, Staying Safe with Faith volunteers will receive ongoing support from Safe Havens’ staff to create awareness campaigns, educational events, and days of action that fit their congregation’s specific needs. They will serve not only as a liaison between Safe Havens and their faith community, but also as a member of a powerful interfaith cohort working to build “safe havens” all around Greater Boston.

Please fill out this form to learn more about our Staying Safe with Faith Volunteer Program and how your congregation can get involved.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Download our Safe with Faith flyer to post in your community and spread the word!

Download

National

National Trainings

What are people saying about our National Trainings?

“This opened the door to working partnerships with faith leaders. We are walking through that door, where we may have hesitated before.”

"As a non-religious person, I appreciated the sensitivity of the trainers to be inclusive and accepting in their language during the training of all people."

"I learned ways to make faith an expansive resource for good and not for harm."

"Having an organization include Spiritual Abuse is critical and necessary as oftentimes victims, survivors, and abusers are caught inside interpretations of sacred text that they believe justifies the abuse received and given."

Through its funding from the Office on Violence Against Women at the U.S. Department of Justice, Safe Havens has developed learning opportunities for domestic and sexual violence service providers and their area faith leaders (clergy and lay leaders).

Safe Havens’ training is designed to catalyze relationships between advocates and faith leaders who want to increase access to services for people who are experiencing abuse and work together to help these people stay safe. Safe Havens has worked in 46 communities across the United States—from Alaska to Florida, from Maine to Southern California, and many places in between. The program is highly interactive and conversational and provides an opportunity to learn more about each other, the trauma that victims experience, and the ways to work together to promote safety.

To learn more about Safe Havens’ national trainings, click here or contact the Safe Havens’ staff at amkatzman@interfaithpartners.org.