News Improving Support for Survivors through Staff Wellness and Coaching Improving Support for Survivors through Staff Wellness and Coaching To effectively support survivors, staff need to be able to care for their own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of others, which is why ACWS hired Tosha Duncan, a social worker with over twenty years of service delivery experience in intimate partner violence, focusing on risk assessment, safety planning, crisis management, team development and interagency collaboration. As a therapist, she has specialized in working with women who have experienced trauma and is authorized to provide psychosocial intervention through the Alberta College of Social Workers and holds membership with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, EMDR Canada and Canadian Association of CBT. Tosha supports the staff at ACWS member shelters through mental wellness support along with coaching staff on providing trauma-informed support to survivors, complex case management, and operational challenges. She also works with ACWS staff on developing training and collecting data through a trauma-informed lens. She fills one of the few positions in the domestic violence sector specifically aimed at supporting staff. This cutting-edge work aims to reduce shelter staff turnover rates and ensure survivors receive a consistently high level of support. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, shelters have seen an increase in the number of survivors seeking help, often with more severe cases of abuse and more complex needs (ACWS COVID-19 Report). In 2021-22, the rate of staff turnover for ACWS member shelters was 45%, an unprecedented rate in the Alberta domestic violence sector and 18% higher than the national staff turnover average for domestic violence shelters (ACWS 2021-22 Workforce Survey). Some of the greatest challenges in recruiting and retaining shelter staff are the stress and vicarious trauma experienced by those working in shelters and supporting survivors, in addition to inadequate wages due to a lack of funding for shelters. Shelter staff deserve livable wages, and they also deserve to have easily accessible mental wellness supports that help to mitigate the impacts of the vicarious trauma and stress they experience while supporting survivors. Staff members who need support from Tosha are easily able to self-refer by email or phone call, and confirmation of employment with one of our member’s shelters is the only criteria for accessing the program. Being able to access specialized support directly through ACWS can mitigate some of the negative impacts on shelter staff’s mental wellbeing, with the hopes that this will reduce the amount of staff shelters are losing due to burnout and vicarious trauma. People who work in domestic abuse shelters have an incredible passion for this work, but the ongoing exposure to trauma has serious implications for mental wellness, and while the need for mental health supports has been recognized as a critical resource for front-line workers in other fields, these supports have not always been accessible to shelter staff. “If staff are well and feel they have support, they are better able to maintain professionalism and a focus on outcomes for survivors,” says Tosha. By ensuring staff have access to support for their mental wellness and for navigating the complexities of their jobs, we ensure they can continue to support survivors. Staff turnover results in significant financial costs for shelters to replace and train new staff, and it can negatively impact the overall functioning of the shelter. It is estimated that it costs 30-150% of a shelter worker’s salary to replace them. In 2021-2022, it cost ACWS member shelters an estimated $2.25 million to fill vacant staff positions (ACWS 2021-22 Workforce Survey). The costs of recruiting and training replacement staff is a huge resource drain for shelters that are already struggling to keep up with increasing costs and rising demands for services. Furthermore, the skills and expertise that staff working in the gender-based violence sector possess can take years to develop. “When shelter staff leave their position, they take with them a highly developed, specialized skillset that may take years to replace” (ACWS 2021-22 Workforce Survey, p. 21). Due to stagnant wages, shelters must often hire entry-level staff with less experience supporting survivors. Tosha’s role extends beyond providing mental wellness support to staff, she is also coaching current shelter staff on how they can enhance their skills to better support survivors. The essential coaching and expertise Tosha provides can help narrow the gap in knowledge and skills, ensuring survivors receive a consistently high level of support. The goal of Tosha’s groundbreaking work with ACWS is to increase staff wellness, for the sake of the passionate individuals doing this work, the overall functioning of shelters, and for the survivors themselves. Retaining dedicated, highly capable staff members means less time and money spent on recruiting and training replacements, and more resources allocated to supporting the survivors they serve.
