CODA (formerly Community Groups Programme) is for children, young people and their mothers who have experienced domestic violence. It provides a community based setting to share and talk about their experiences. The Community Group model was originally developed in Canada. AVA has the endorsement of the Canadian authors to adapt and roll out the model in the UK.
Here is more information on the programme.
Our training
We offer a 3 day training course for practitioners to enable set up programme. We will come to you to deliver training to those practitioners who will actually be running the groups for women or children (facilitators) and the person(s) who will be co-ordinating the group work programme locally (see below).
To be eligible to run groups we would expect that participants to have a good understanding of the impacts of domestic violence on women and children and have experience of running groups and an understanding of the group work process. We will provide all the materials your coordinator(s) and facilitators will need to deliver the programme.
We suggest that each area nominates a coordinator who will be responsible for publicising the groups locally, and taking referrals from relevant agencies. They will also locate a venue for the groups, assist with any transport issues and pass referrals onto group facilitators. One coordinator should be sufficient but if you are working for a large area, it may be appropriate to have two co-ordinators. Facilitators will deliver the 12-week programme and thus work directly with the mothers and their children.
CODA works best when a range of partner agencies in an area are trained and committed to working together on it. Partner agencies can include
- health visitors
- school nurses
- social services
- CAMHS
- Youth workers
- voluntary sector
- Specialist gender based violence services
- Education
- police
- probation service.
For information about our next Community Groups course or to enquire about getting the training delivered to your organisation, please contact us on Training@avaproject.org.uk
This training course costs £3000 for up to 25 delegates, this can be delivered anywhere in the country. It includes –
- All the training materials
- Co-ordinator guidance, FAQ booklet and other relevant materials
- Three sets of the Community group manuals, and one electronic copy on a memory stick ( Additional materials may be purchased)
- One year membership of Community group network, details are below
- Access to all ongoing support – as detailed below
CODA Network
By becoming a member of the CODA Network you gain access to benefits which will improve your ability to run courses, stay informed, stay connected and maintain best practice through a revolutionary model within the VAWG sector.
The benefits include access to additional resources, including lesson plans, worksheets, academic papers, multimedia tools, blog posts and consistent updates from experts in the field.
Also the members area will include:
- An online forum for coordinator and facilities
- Bi-annual events
- Event and notice board
- Opportunities for other projects
Membership cost £150 a year per organisation, please register here.
Other services
There may be questions that arise that you would like further advice on. Therefore it will be possible to contact the trainer and the project manager to discuss any issues that arise (this may have to be booked in advance depending on the query and time involved).
Due to the sensitive nature of setting up and running groups, we strongly suggest that all involved have access to regular, supervised clinical supervision.
AVA may be able to provide some clinical supervision, or be able advise supervisors on how to undertake appropriate supervision with staff. This will occur additional costs.
We can also offer wider range of bespoke training or consultancy package depending on your needs, these included evaluations and embedding the programme with wider projects.
Please contact us for more information
