Canyon Creek Services

Description

Founded in 1996, Canyon Creek Services (CCS) provides free and confidential services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Beaver, Garfield, and Iron counties. Services include emergency shelter, crisis intervention, information and referral, court and medical advocacy, mental health services, housing advocacy, and safety planning. CCS also provides awareness, education, and prevention services.

CCS is funded by state and federal grants, foundations, and donations.

Services offered

Canyon Creek Services provides:

• Emergency shelter
• 24/7 emergency hotline (435.233.5732) available through call or text
• 24/7 hospital response
• Case management
• Housing assistance
• Child and youth services
• Community education and prevention programming
• Services also available in Spanish

Case management includes continuing services such as safety planning and advocacy for clients who need services but not shelter or for clients who are able to move out of the shelter but continue to need support. Advocates provide assistance and support with adult and child protective orders, stalking injunctions, court appearances, hospital response, and other supportive measures.

The 24/7 hotline team provides:

• Hospital response
• Help filling out protective orders, stalking injunctions, and child protective orders
• Court support and advocacy
• Law enforcement interview accompaniment
• Case management
• Referrals to community resources

Since 2015, CCS has been partnering with local law enforcement in a statewide effort to prevent deaths related to domestic violence. The nationwide Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) is a tool that first responders use to identify "high-risk domestic violence victims" — those at risk of being seriously injured or killed by a partner or family member — through a series of 11 questions. When someone is identified as high-risk, a first responder calls the hotline and encourages the victim to speak with an advocate about available resources like emergency shelter, counseling, and legal advocacy.

Results

In 2022, CCS served 756 survivors, with 141 of them accessing the emergency shelter. CCS reached 159,275 people through community outreach and prevention campaigns.

Challenges

A lack of state and government funding provides a very significant barrier in providing adequate services. In addition, CCS is in a rural setting with limited resources.

Replication

Enlist the help and partnership of various organizations in your community: the hospital, law enforcement, and other social service organizations.

Participate in existing local coalitions to build partnerships and work on shared goals, and create your own coalition to utilize partnerships.

Build a strong board with strong ties to the community and your cause.

Enlist volunteers to help lessen the burden, and be creative in the way you utilize these volunteers throughout your organization.

Contact Information

Shay Baruffi, Awareness and Prevention Coordinator
Canyon Creek Services
435.383.2125
shay@canyoncreekservices.org