ABOUT US
DOVE was born as a reaction to the realization of intimate partner violence on the island. We are exploring and innovation around better ways to meet the challenges and barriers of the one in three women and one in five men who experience domestic violence.
Initially, in 2011, The DOVE Project (which stands for Dignity, Opportunity, Voice, Empowerment) was a project of a community group called the Vashon Healthy Community Network.
DOVE, in its entirety, was quite literally a phone and a bag, held and managed by a volunteer. When the Vashon Healthy Community Network disbanded, DOVE applied for it's 501(c)3 nonprofit status and was fiscally sponsored by Vashon Youth and Family Services. In March 2013, DOVE officially became recognized as a 501(c)3 and began operating with complete autonomy.
DOVE is proud to be a social profit organization. That's the point of our work: social profit. The term not-for-profit is misleading as there is a huge profit for the communities we serve. Social profit is about desired social benefits, and that is defined locally.
Integrity
We conduct every aspect of our work at the highest ethical standards and hold ourselves accountable to them. We value transparency and staunchly safeguard the confidentiality of the people we serve.
Innovation, Collaboration & Partnerships
We are committed to learning constantly, developing innovative practices, and evolving strategies as necessary to meet the changing needs of the community we serve. We want to align our work and outcome measurements with the up to date landscape of the community. It is only through collaboration can we have the broadest impact.
Social justice
We value diverse perspectives and strive to incorporate an anti-oppression lens in all aspects of our work. We acknowledge that racism is that the root of all oppressive systems. We hold the systems we navigate accountable for anti-racist practices.
Caring
We conduct our work with compassion and meet our survivors where they are with non-judgmental dignity. We believe in a person-centered, trauma-informed approach. In our advocacy, our hope is to empower survivors to take the next steps of safety and security and love. Our work begins and ends with the interests of survivors of relationship abuse in mind.
