The Full Frame Initiative’s Post

American systems are perpetuating inequities and trauma. “In New York, we have mothers who are reporting, and the term we use is that they are then double abused — they are abused by their partners, and then they are abused by the system which is supposed to help them,” said David Shalleck-Klein, executive director and founder of the Family Justice Law Center in New York. “It’s paternalistic and based on generalized stereotyping and biases against survivors of domestic violence. We say to them, ‘You allowed yourself to be abused, so we can’t trust you.’” Systems have far-reaching impacts on wellbeing, which begs the question: what can they do — and do differently — to better serve survivors?

In 2014, we worked with survivors across California to ask an overlooked question: how do survivors define success? What we found challenged many basic assumptions of the domestic violence field, and highlighted important opportunities to strengthen systems’ response across the state and nationwide. This #WellbeingWednesday, we're sharing a new case study from a partnership between FFI and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that brought together domestic violence practitioners across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to support the full experience of survivors. The case study highlights how these agencies are leveraging wellbeing to align domestic violence services with survivors' vision of success. By centering wellbeing and partnering with survivors, our partners are moving toward co-creating change in the lives of survivors as well as in the system itself.

Every October, the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Domestic Violence Awareness Project coordinate a theme for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This year's theme, "Heal, Hold & Center," aligns with FFI's philosophy that we are all hardwired for wellbeing, but racism, sexism and other inequities baked into our systems mean that we don't all have the same access to wellbeing. Learn more about this year's framing: “For DVAM and beyond, the Domestic Violence Awareness Project calls on us to Heal, Hold & Center survivors, especially those navigating anti-Blackness and other systems of oppression. We know there is no survivor justice without racial justice. We must work together to embrace the many cultural ways we can heal from violence and oppression, hold space for survivors, and center those most marginalized in all of our efforts to end domestic violence.”

The #DVCounts survey is instrumental in raising awareness about domestic violence and the important work of advocates. The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV)'s DV Counts survey tells the story behind the statistics: of survivors who reached out, and of the advocates who were there to support them. Learn more: NNEDV.org/DVCounts

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and this #WellbeingWednesday we're highlighting the NO MORE Foundation's State Voting Guide for Survivors. Voting impacts every aspect of our wellbeing and domestic violence survivors face significant barriers. The guide provides information to help survivors and their loved ones navigate the voting process safely. There is also state-specific information on programs and voting options that can help protect survivors' privacy when voting. The NO MORE Foundation is comprised of the largest coalition of nonprofits, corporations, government agencies, media, schools, and individuals addressing domestic and sexual violence. Learn more about the guide and their other resources by visiting their website.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Climate Week NYC session on Wellbeing Through Climate Adaptation! It was a joy and a privilege to share the floor with such an illustrious group of co-presenters. Stay tuned for updates on the connections between climate and wellbeing as this area of FFI's work develops. Many thanks to our co-presenters: Jainey Bavishi with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Janelle Kellman, Esq. (She/Her) from the The Center for Sea Rise Solutions, Juan Camilo Osorio Botero from the Pratt Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, Walter Rodríguez Meyer, PLA from Local Office Landscape and Urban Design and FFI Senior Fellow john Shapiro!

Racism and othering are embedded into our systems – and our homelessness response system is no different. Kudos to agencies in Arizona who are analyzing how the questions that are asked on intake forms are resulting in racial disparities in housing. They hope to end this trend by asking better questions and taking a approach that is more aligned with wellbeing.

Government assistance programs such as EBT (sometimes known as food stamps) often come with significant administrative burdens and tradeoffs for people accessing these benefits. This #WellbeingWednesday, we're highlighting Code for America's work toward building a human-centered food assistance program. Using automation and trust, the Summer EBT program reduced barriers by automatically issuing benefits to families with children. The project also included an easy-to-use, online self-service portal so families could access information about their benefits without needing to reach out to agency staff.

Learn more about our Founder & CEO, Katya Fels Smyth, her big picture thinking and the science-backed wellbeing framework that underlies our work on the Purist blog.