Arise believes that it is only through strengthening families that we will start to see lasting and sustainable change in our country. Resilience, attachment and family preservation are the bedrock on which all our programmes are built and we believe that family strengthening needs to be the cornerstone of change built into every development programme across sectors. Our family strengthening work focuses on building resilience, deepening relationships, nurturing strengths, growing problem solving skills and developing a sense of belonging in all our families, regardless of how that family is formed.
We know that for this to happen we need to work at three inter-related and connected levels: Family Strengthening Services, Adoption Support Services; and Training and Consulting services. We believe that to achieve change we need to focus on building the strength and capabilities as well as building resilience of children, teens, parents and caregivers in order to better meet the developmental needs of children and young people. To keep children safe and well we need to help create nurturing relationships and environments in families and communities.
Research globally describes the need to focus on building the capabilities of caregivers and strengthening the communities that together form the environment of relationships essential to children’s lifelong learning, health, and behaviour. We believe that equipping caregivers with such knowledge ensures that the children in thriving families are able to reach their full potential.
Arise’s theory of change is guided by a social ecological understanding of the complex causes of child abuse and neglect (Horton, 2003; Browne 2014). Protective and risk factors are present in individual, relational, community, and societal domains of the social ecology (Browne, 2014a). “Family systems do not function in a vacuum; families are always embedded within other systems. These extra-familial interactions have a profound impact on the strength of family networks” (Pell, 2006). Focusing solely on individual level factors will not ensure the health of children and families (Browne, 2014a.) A holistic view of the context that creates resiliency or negative outcomes beyond the individual is key to understanding the “structural deficiencies in our society” that impact families (Browne, 2014a). Our approach to all 3 of our core services considers the social ecological association with risk factors alongside the social determinants of health, the conditions or circumstances in society that have a greater chance to produce poor outcomes (i.e. systemic racism, lack of educational attainment, no or sub-standard health care options, few opportunities to gain economic resources, unsafe neighborhoods) (Browne, 2014a). Applying this theory to our model helps mitigate the multifaceted, interconnected, systemic challenges that many families face in our country.
Our Collaborative Model:
Hover over the drop down menu to see what we’ve got lined up for our Family Strengthening Services, Adoption Support Services and Consulting Services.