Community-Based Services  (formerly Non-Residential Services)

The goal of the Community-Based Services Program is to effect social change by providing a gathering place for survivors to come together for peer support and education. Our Program is divided into two major areas: community-based support groups, including advocacy for survivors, and domestic violence education in the community. Within these areas, we offer one culturally specific program: the Healing Roots Center, which serves African and African-American communities. Please see update below for information on Gender and Sexual Minority Services.

Community-Based Support Groups

The Support Group component offers:

• General domestic violence support groups for survivors of domestic violence
• A LGBTQ support group
• A support group for African and African-American survivors of domestic violence

Our goals for the groups are as follows:

• Each participant will regain a sense of personal power.
• Each participant will reclaim self-esteem.
• Each participant will have a better understanding of interpersonal violence.
• Each participant will get in touch with, and learn healthy ways to express all feelings connected with having been abused.
• Each participant will end isolation; connect with other survivors; learn how to give and get support.
• Each participant will be able to clarify and realize self-identified individual goals.

Our support groups use a peer support and education model. The philosophy of Bradley Angle is that every survivor knows what is best for her/him/hir self. We believe that if we have a safe place to talk, think, learn and feel, we can decide what is best for us.

Our support group evaluations demonstrate that this model is generally successful in empowering individuals to get support in keeping themselves and their children safe, healing from the abuse, and moving forward with their lives in a positive way.

To join a general support group, speak with an advocate or to request an educational presentation, individuals can call the Community-Based Services Program at 503-232-7805 x2.

Sexual and Gender Minority Services

Domestic violence affects all people, regardless of age, race, economic status, sexual orientation, or gender identify. In the sexual and gender minority community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer or LGBTQ), approximately 30% of couples struggle with domestic violence. A variety of personal, social and institutional barriers frequently prevent LGBTQ survivors from accessing resources, such as support groups and shelters, that could help them leave abusive partners.

To join a general support group or to speak with an advocate, individuals may call the Lupita Mendez at the Community-Based Services Program at 503-384-8790.

Healing Roots Center

The Healing Roots Center is a collaborative project of Bradley Angle and LifeWorks Northwest. It was created to educate, support and heal African and African-American survivors and observers of domestic violence, while empowering them to advocate for their families, their communities and themselves. The Center was funded for three years, through June 2009, by a grant from the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. It offers a drop-in referral program that connects women and their children to services. These services may include temporary and long-term housing options, case management, culturally specific support groups as well as empowerment through creative arts. Through our core partner, LifeWorks Northwest, we also offer mental health and alcohol and drug addiction services on site. Community outreach and education is enhanced by partnerships with community organizations serving members of these communities.

As the Healing Roots Center grows, it is our intention to create a strong empowerment program that will address other issues that affect the community including health disparities, various types of violence, financial literacy, job and Internet skill. Our goal is to encourage self-reliance through information, mentoring, research, support groups and celebrations that honor African and African American traditions.

To learn more about the Healing Roots Center, to join a support group, to speak with an advocate or to request an educational presentation, individuals may call the Healing Roots Center at 503-595-9591.

Interconnections Project

Interconnections is a research project being conducted via a partnership between OHSU & the Healing Roots Center, a United Way Community Impact Partner.

The purpose of the study is to improve mental health care for women of color who have experienced domestic violence. The goal is to develop a community-based intervention and test how effective it is in reducing the severity of depression in black women.

Visit the Interconnections Project webpage for more information on how to participate in this study.