The Nuevo Amanecer Program, Dominican Women’s Development Center

The Special Role of Latino Community Based Organizations

A valuable resource that has often been overlooked within the domestic violence movement is the role Latino community based organizations (CBOs) can play in raising community awareness and mobilizing communities to end domestic violence. Latino CBOs with a long standing history of providing culturally proficient, multi-services to Latino communities are uniquely positioned to offer community based domestic violence services. Founded in 1988, the Dominican Women’s Development Center has provided a wide range of services to residents of Washington Heights/Inwood sections of Manhattan, including family counseling services, literacy classes, technology and job training. In 1998 it launched a comprehensive domestic violence program named Nuevo Amanecer.

The Nuevo Amanecer program has been well received within the community, in part due to the respect and trust the parent organization has garnered over the years. Nuevo Amanecer receives considerable support from the parent agency and is thus able to operate a comprehensive program which includes: information and referral services, individual counseling and safety planning, support groups for survivors, advocacy and court accompaniment, a 24 hour bilingual, domestic violence hotline and a counseling and support program for children and youth who are victims or witnesses of domestic violence.

Nuevo Amanecer receives referrals from all agency programs and is able to rapidly connect its own program clients to the many services offered by the parent agency. Moreover because the parent agency has a full complement of bilingual workers and delivers culturally proficient services, clients feel understood and supported, and remain fully engaged.

For more information visit www.dwdc.org.