Intervention, Change and Education Service (ICES) works to address the issue of domestic violence in and around Estelí.
Since 2010, our lawyer Maria Felix Castillo and psychologist Karen Villarreyna have developed this program giving support for women and children suffering domestic violence; raising awareness via informal education delivered to women in workshop settings and children in schools in rural communities; and assisting local health workers in development of practical strategies addressing cases of concern.
COMPONENTS
Psychological care and counseling, legal advice and support, & emergency shelter for affected women and their dependents.
Primary school outreach activities focused on gender studies, reproductive health, and sexual abuse avoidance.
Adult focused educational outreach, including workshops in local rural communities, for our students and for expectant mothers while staying at the Casa Materna during the last weeks of their pregnancy.
Partnering with the Ministry of the Family, the Ministry of Health and the local campus of Nicaragua's National Autonomous University to provide support to rural and urban health workers concerned about people impacted by domestic violence.
Dr. Luz Marilis López
In partnership with Dr. Luz Marilis López from the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health at Boston University, ICES has expanded their work in addressing domestic violence with efforts focused at improved integration of social work services into medical care to help identify and assist women who are experiencing domestic violence.
Dr. Luz Marilis López
Components:
She, along with social work students and faculty from Boston University are part of interdisciplinary teams working with the annual medical brigade, the ICES psychologist and lawyer, and nurses within the community. In addition to providing assistance, the team is immersed in the Nicaraguan culture and Spanish language and learn and apply best practices of care and domestic violence education.
Collaboration between Dr. López and the social work and psychology faculty at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in Estelí have resulted in the opportunity to provide in workshops, both in person and remotely (through Zoom technology), for students, social workers and psychologists covering such topics as trauma-informed care, forms of abuse, family violence and culturally appropriate treatment approaches.
Educational support for the students and faculty of the social work and psychology programs at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua Estelí is provided via presentations and workshops on trauma-informed care, forms of abuse, family violence, and culturally appropriate treatment approaches.
Currently, 2 to 3 month internship opportunities are being developed for bilingual social work students in order to enhance cultural immersion and training experiences, as well as to collaborate and support the ICES team with their work in domestic violence prevention and education.
Dr. Fran Smith
Drs. Lyn Styczynski & Len Greenberg
Drs. Fran Smith, Lyn Styczynski and Len Greenberg are family psychologists from Boston, Massachusetts, who have provided ongoing support, guidance and collaboration in our work, including the development of strategies to better support health workers in rural areas concerned about patients suffering domestic violence. Drs. Lyn Styczynski and Len Greenberg have assisted ICES in collaboration with the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in Estelí and the Ministries of Health and Family to develop a program that identifies and provides follow up for domestic violence cases in rural communities outside of Estelí.
Final year social work and psychology students from the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in Estelí are able to participate in internships, sponsored by the Christine King Multi-Service Cooperative, to work with our program addressing domestic violence in the region.
See ICES in Action!
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