Preventing Domestic Violence Before It Begins
San Mateo County Libraries
Innovation Synopsis
Domestic violence is a constant, hidden presence in our communities that surged to a record increase of 8% during the pandemic, disproportionately affecting women and communities of color.
As libraries, we have a unique opportunity as trusted agencies in our communities to foster healthy relationships that prevent intimate partner violence, establish connections to resources before they may be needed, and increase community awareness.
Our pioneering partnership delivers an eight-week program for families with 0–5-year-olds that powers the formation of healthy relationships and boundaries before problems occur--propelled by the library’s connections with under-served communities.
Challenge/Opportunity
In late 2022, the brutal murder of a local domestic violence victim rocked our County and urgently prioritized a deadly issue. Of the most recent five homicides in the County, all were murders by the victim’s intimate partner. This prevalence of domestic violence is not unique to our County or to the state but is found everywhere in the nation.
The tragedy and subsequent calls to action inspired a partnership between us and a nonprofit, Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse. To better protect community members against domestic violence, we established an intervention in August 2023 that combines evidence-based expertise with the trust and embeddedness of the library.
Primary prevention for domestic violence is to ensure it never occurs in the first place. Our program broadly reaches young families and destigmatizes painful issues—effectively messaging that homes with low conflict, effective parenting, and healthy couple relationships can break cycles of abuse and violence.
Key Elements of Innovation
Libraries can do more to prevent intimate partner violence. By actively participating in primary prevention and community outreach, the library fosters safe communities. The earned trust and safety people feel with the library allows increased connections to address stigmatized, unspoken issues.
Key Program Elements
• Evidence-based effort with strategies proven effective in preventing intimate partner violence
• Up to 16 hours of home-based activities that strengthen family bonds and model healthy relationships
• Activities stress role equity, teamwork and conflict management
• 3 connections with expert staff for referrals
Deep library community connections enroll young families from
• Subsidized preschools
• Farmworker coastal communities
• Urban and under-resourced areas
Our innovative approach supports families and leverages library resources to create a community-centric, inclusive initiative that addresses domestic violence through proactive engagement and collaboration.
Achieved Outcomes
- 250 families received services over the 8-week program, resulting in 32 weeks of support across all cohorts
- We engaged 50% Spanish and 50% English speakers
- We have an 80% success rate of reaching families
- Year 2 of this partnership will expand to reach 400 families
- Participants have been connected to food, diapers, parent classes, federal food programs, child development support, and referrals for intimate partner abuse
- Participant quotes:
- "Thank you for the opportunity to engage in this wonderful program and giving me the opportunity to get to know my daughter more.”
- "This program has allowed us to spend more time together as a family"
- "We really loved the program. The program has pushed us to go to the library and make new friends. On that day I met another family for the first time. We didn’t know each other. Now my daughter has a friend to play with while we drink coffee”
