Benefits of Collaboration

Victims, service organizations, and the community benefit from a collaborative approach to providing victim services in a Safe Haven. Among the many benefits of community collaboration are—

• Existence of a common mission and goals.
• Minimization of victim confusion through a single point of contact or source of information.
• Coordination of effective services and resources.
• Development of community relationships that benefit the community as well as the victims being served.
• Promotion of positive relationships among agencies that would not otherwise work together.
• Generation of community goodwill.
• Collaboration of people and organizations that have various skills, resources, and information.
• Ability to address a broader diversity of victim needs.
• Collective participation and investment among community agencies.

Working with multiple professional disciplines provides educational opportunities on the issues of victimization, which can have long-term benefits such as—

• Heightened public awareness.
• Increased program funding.
• Positive public policy changes.
• Increased multidisciplinary services for victims of crime.
• Revitalized sense of teamwork.
• Commitment and investment in a project's success.