‘In survival mode': New project aims to support gender-based violence service providers
More people leaving sector since pandemic due to stress and trauma, advocate says
As gender-based violence organizations and shelters in Nova Scotia grapple with rising demand, a new wellness project is offering service providers the chance to focus on their own well-being.
The “You Matter” initiative will offer virtual biweekly support sessions, set to begin in the coming weeks, to help people working across the sector cope with burnout, vicarious trauma and emotional strain.
“They are first responders a lot of the time to horrific and awful situations,” said Sue Bookchin, executive director of Be the Peace Institute, a non-profit group that works to end gender-based violence in Nova Scotia.
“Nobody wants to bring that stuff home at the end of the day, and yet most people do.”
Funded by a $25,000 grant from the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia, it’s being led by Be the Peace, and facilitated by registered social worker and trauma therapist Kristina Fifield.
Bookchin said more people have been leaving the sector, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, because organizations that support survivors of gender-based violence in Nova Scotia are “stretched to [their] limits.”
“Organizations are in survival mode. The people who work in organizations are in survival mode,” she said. “This is really about building the individual resilience in people to deal with the conditions that are out there.”
The sessions are open to anyone working in the sector, from front-line staff like social workers and counsellors, to managers and administrators.
Fifield, who spent more than a decade working in transition houses before becoming a trauma therapist in the private sector, said the sessions will entail a mix of self-care practices, including mindfulness, reflection, movement, connecting with nature and group discussions.
An educational component will also explore the different ways people respond to repeated exposure to trauma, and outline practical coping mechanisms that can be implemented into their daily lives.
“People have not left this work not because they don’t like the work,” said Fifield. “It’s just they’re not getting the proper support and resources.
Fifield and Bookchin both pointed to the high cost of therapy and specialized mental health care, particularly for those without health benefits.
The sessions will be held virtually, with the goal of expanding to some in-person offerings, to ensure they’re easily accessible to service providers across the province, including those in rural communities.
“[We’re] trying to build a community of support and practices to help individuals that are navigating the complexities of doing this really difficult work,” said Fifield.
“There’s not enough attention on the impacts of being exposed to the suffering and the violence that we’re witnessing.”
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