Catalyst is grateful for the dedication and assistance of our business partner.
Thanks, UnitedHealthcare!

Welcome to Catalyst Domestic Violence Services

Catalyst is a nonprofit organization committed to serving the needs of all victims of domestic violence and their children regardless of ethnicity, citizenship, language, religion, physical disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.

Accessibility to Services

Catalyst staff and volunteers recognize that asking for help and finding support can be very challenging, and that intimate partner violence (IPV) can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical ability, immigration status, or socioeconomic status. Survivors of IPV face a variety of barriers when it comes to accessing services and resources designed to help them find safety. Members of marginalized communities often encounter complex barriers to accessing services more frequently than others. As an agency, we value the diverse backgrounds of Catalyst participants, and we are committed to providing service delivery that acknowledges each participant’s unique needs and experiences.

Building our capacity for cultural humility is one of Catalyst’s priorities for 2014. Cultural humility is a lifelong learning process that involves critical self-reflection of our own assumptions and beliefs. As service providers it is our responsibility to acknowledge and reduce the impact of our power and privileges when supporting others. Instead of pressuring individuals to conform to dominant cultural values and worldviews, especially in regards to safety, we trust that they understand their own lives and experiences better than we ever could. Part of this process is to listen carefully and validate the challenges our participants have faced. We help them not by showing them solutions but by empowering each individual to identify and embrace their own strengths as part of the process of identifying and meeting their own goals.

Over the past few years, Catalyst has dedicated resources toward increasing access for community members who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, and questioning. Although IPV occurs at the same rates in LGBTQ+ relationships and heterosexual relationships (25-33%), cultural bias can make it more difficult to find and receive sensitive services for individuals who identify as LGBTQ+. In collaboration with leaders of LGBTQ+ communities, Catalyst is working hard to break down those barriers and provide accessible, welcoming, and safe spaces. We have become more visible to the community as an ally and resource, and we are seeing the results as LGBTQ+ individuals are accessing our therapeutic services, legal assistance, social service advocacy, safe shelter, and crisis intervention services in greater numbers.

As we increase Catalyst’s cultural capacity, we hope to be a stronger and more accessible voice for all members of the community who need our support. We continually seek education about unique needs and individual challenges of underserved individuals that must be addressed in order to help them feel safe. We actively engage in dialogue with community leaders to learn about their perceptions of our services and to identify ways we can better serve those who still don’t identify Catalyst as a safe resource. We are identifying gaps in our services and places where people may fall through the cracks. Most importantly, we are taking steps to remedy these potential issues and reduce barriers as they are revealed.