All right, y'all,
you are joining us for a very special mini series here at Prevent Connect.
I am Janae Sargent and I am joined by my colleague,
friend and oftentimes co-host Ashleigh Klein
Jimenez.
Hi everyone.
I'm Ashley we're doing this mini series
that is looking at the transformative journey of the Delta Project,
a pioneering initiative by the centers for Disease Control and Prevention
that's been aimed at preventing intimate partner violence.
Over the course of these episodes, we are going to be exploring
the rich history, innovative approaches and profound impact of Delta
through the voices of those who have been instrumental in its success.
Join us as we sit down with CDC, national Technical
Assistance Providers and past and present Delta grantees
who share their unique insights and experiences
from the early days of Delta to the latest advancements in Delta ahead.
This podcast celebrates strategies that have helped intimate partner
violence prevention at the community and societal levels.
Ashley, I'm so excited to do this for you and thank you all for listening.
You're
listening to Prevent Connect, the podcast, bringing together voices
from across the movement to end gender and power based violence.
To give you the tools to practice primary prevention in your daily life
and at work, we're highlighting emerging research, promising strategies
and stories from on the ground prevention practitioners doing this work in new
and innovative ways, bringing you topics like foundational strategies
to prevent violence, primary prevention, and youth engagement.
Critical race theory and school Climate Prevention in a digital age, and more.
I'm your host, Jenny Sargeant, and this is perfect.
Connect.
welcome to Delta Reflections
shaping the future of intimate partner violence prevention.
It's our mini podcast series.
And in today's episode we are going to be
looking at the experiences of people who have provided
technical assistance to Delta recipients over the years.
And we are so honored to have Casey Keene with us, the Director of Programs
and Prevention at the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence,
or NCDs, as we lovingly refer to you all.
And Casey has been with the Delta project
since its inception, which is really exciting.
I feel like, Casey, we have a lot of questions for you.
but thank you so much for joining us today.
How are you doing?
I am fantastic, thank you so much for having me.
I'm excited to have this conversation.
Yay, yay.
Well, we're excited to be with you and to have this conversation with you.
And I guess the first question, it's kind of a big one because I know
that you have really been providing technical assistance to Delta recipients
since the beginning of the project or the the Delta program.
And so wondering if you would share your experience
and how your role has evolved over the years.
Thank you.
Yeah, that's a great question.
I was a young person when I started
at the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, very young,
and my first role was as Vernet and public public education assistant.
at that time in history, we got funding from the centers
for Disease Control and Prevention to operate the Vernet project
as an online resource library and the learning community.
So my role was supporting the prevention focus, listservs
and resources, that went along with that project.
back then, 2001, the web was really new.
advocates were just learning how to utilize the internet
to support their work.
and so really, a lot of our training and technical assistance was around
how to use the technology, basic things like how to how to search the internet
to find the information you're looking for, how to use the Barnett website,
how to engage in our message boards and our listserv to get peer support.
so those were the kinds of activities we were engaged in back then.
the Delta program then started in 2002.
So I was a new baby in the movement, and it was just one year after
I started at Ncbi.
And so since then I've been in a lot of different roles, but every single one
has really been connected to capacity building for prevention.
and so I've gotten to witness the evolution of the Delta program
and I've also got to witness the evolution of the National IPV Prevention Council.
And the reason I'm mentioning that is because that group really grew
from a conversation among Delta recipients and national to providers about
how do we bridge the gap between those who receive prevention funding
and those who do not?
And this was like ten years into the program, you know, back in 2011
when it became really important to, sort of close that gap
and make sure that everybody had the capacity to do prevention work.
can I just say that I actually did not expect you to talk about how
the internet was just like a baby
back when Delta was a baby and you were a baby.
And that is such a fascinating piece to bring up, Casey,
because, yeah, in 2001, oh my gosh, we still had dial up.
We didn't really know what we were doing on the internet.
That is wild.
Yeah, yeah, it was a wild time.
And so the evolution of these things kind of happened at the same time.
And so thinking about where we are now and how we utilize technology
to support our prevention work, it's a totally different place.
That's incredible.
I when you said that,
I was thinking especially Ashley, your comment about dial up in 2001,
I was sneaking on to my mom's AOL, and making the phone places.
So you it just really puts
so much into perspective for me how much experience you have.
Casey, in this work, and what an impactful role you have played
in shaping one of the biggest intimate partner violence
prevention projects ever.
it's really cool to hear that you were involved in
every single part of the inception of Delta.
How do you feel then kind of going from dial up?
People are just getting you used to the internet to now this like
really comprehensive and innovative living and breathing program.
How do you feel Delta projects have shaped the field of intimate partner
violence prevention?
Yeah, no thank you, Janet.
It's really been profound.
I would say that the shift has been profound.
I think most significantly
is really a basic shift when I think about it.
And it's in our understanding about what prevention is and what prevention is not.
And we have learned along the way that it is not something additional or extra.
It's not a side dish.
In fact, we've we've come to realize, going back to our roots,
that prevention is embedded in the history and the foundation of our work
as a social change movement.
it's also not any one person's
job and absolutely cannot be accomplished in isolation.
And you will never get anywhere doing prevention work alone.
We all have to create the culture and the conditions, for people to thrive.
And it has to be happening in every single role
in our organizations and at every level.
We've learned that that investment is really critical.
And putting a scribing prevention to one person's job
title or description is not going to shift anything.
So the other thing is, we've learned
there's not really any limits on what prevention looks like.
We understand now that prevention is really broad
and expansive, and it's in everything we do.
And it can be anything.
so the limitlessness of prevention,
makes it feel a little bit intimidating, but at the same time means
you have the flexibility to move in whatever direction inspires
you and whatever direction you feel passionate about.
And perhaps the most important shift
is that we now
know that the means are the end,
that the how we do the work
by leading with love, by building meaningful relationships,
by centering those most impacted,
by advancing equity, by shifting power, and embracing
a mindset of abundance and humility, all of that in the way we do the work.
That's what matters, that living out our values is prevention.
That's the thing that's going to make the change that we're looking for.
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You know I'm not sure if you know this
I think you do Ashley does I,
I was a Delta sub recipient in my first role in prevention.
And so as you're sharing that
you know I guess I just want to throw some appreciation.
Your way because all of those values that you described
are how I came to learn about prevention.
So I am a part of a generation of prevention ESPs who were shaped by Delta.
And I remember my Delta project was truly community centered.
It felt so creative.
It was nothing like I had expected or was experience saying we did a
a social marketing campaign created with and for young boys, and it was
I just felt so deeply impacted by Delta and it shaped who I am.
Prevention asked.
And so I hear these stories sometimes, and it's like
it has not always been this way and about how far we've come.
And so I feel so much appreciation for the folks who helped get us there.
And and you're one of those people.
I also know that moving prevention
that much must have been
so challenging and rewarding and just tough.
Can you talk about some of the challenges and successes you've witnessed
throughout your whole journey working with Delta recipients?
one of the main challenge is really has been about making the case
for prevention why we should be doing it, why it matters,
why it's important, and why it should be integrated into everything we do.
we have really, for a long time known that to end gender based violence,
we have to interrupt the cultural norms and the constructs
and the rules that support it.
We've also known it's a long game
and that we're invested in it for future generations.
But this deep knowing that we have
based on our experiential wisdom, it is not enough
to bring funders and policymakers and other partners on board
just to say, we know this with our whole heart.
And in fact,
it has been a challenge to even make the case
inside of our own own organizations shifting from a place
where people, you know, in your role as a prevention educator that
that you could check that prevention box by having somebody in a role like that.
We know our movement has been impacted by many things,
like the nonprofit industrial complex, the carceral state.
We have over time, really become funder
driven rather than social change oriented.
That is what leads to feelings of scarcity
and division and competition within our movement.
And so we needed to we needed to
and continue to need to, break that down.
so that means going back to our roots and if we can go back to our roots
as a social change movement,
that's where we can open the door for these practices to come through.
And that takes organizational commitment and intention.
And so what we needed was for Delta recipients
to be able to demonstrate the promise of prevention
and the impact of prevention, both internally in their own
organizations and externally to those who we wanted to invest in it.
So in order to do that, they needed evidence based practice,
but they also needed their practice based evidence to be recognized and validated.
And that was a significant shift on the part of CDC
that I think really got us to the place where we we were able to say,
we know this are our deep knowing is validated by these stories
and these experiences and changes possible.
And so that's why we spent considerable time building the engagement
section of the prevent IPV website, which has tools
and resources to some recipients in making the case for prevention.
And not just recipients, but anybody who wants to make the case
that this is a worthwhile investment.
we have, you know, built tools together to help do that.
And I think we're in a place now where maybe we don't need to invest as much time
in making the case, which is because of all the, the work
that we've been doing along the way to do that.
So that, to me, feels like the biggest challenge
to getting us from from point A in 2001
or 2002 to point B, where we are now.
gosh, I so there's like so much to respond to what you just said, Casey.
but one thing
that's like at the top of my head is I'm glad you brought up prevent IPV.
I use that website all the time.
Probably at least every other week.
There's just such a wealth of material
and, resources and just an incredible space
to really find what you need when we're talking about prevention.
And, it's it's really an incredible little slice of the internet
to help to continue to, build capacity for people
who are doing prevention, but to also reinforce
and continue to make the case that prevention is, is possible.
and prevention works.
And, you know, earlier you mentioned the IPV Prevention Council
and the importance of bringing together those who are receiving IP prevention
funding, like Delta and those who aren't, because there's so much wisdom
and learning, both within but also far beyond Delta.
and that is just
so important, I think, when you're talking about like,
getting back to our roots and really thinking about social change,
because that's been happening without this funding for a long, long time.
one of the ways that I think you all and our Khedive
has really been able to help tell the stories that are coming
out of the Delta project, are this series of stories
about innovations in prevention through through Delta?
and it's something that, you know, every time you release a new one.
Over the years, I got really excited because it truly is a story.
And I, I love stories, so I'm wondering if you would maybe share a little bit
about those Delta stories and some of the, the ones that kind of stand out to you?
Oh my gosh, Ashley, thank you so much and thank you for highlighting.
You know how valuable you feel.
The private IPV website is.
really the goal there is to make prevention feel.
Yeah, possible, as you said.
by providing the tools that people need to be able to do it.
but I really feel my greatest joy in supporting the Delta recipients
has been capturing their stories.
storytelling is so dear to to me.
and I think is is the way we, we make change together.
and so we have a variety of stories, published on our website.
We have six topic specific stories that feature, innovative
work and lessons learned from Delta Focus recipients.
They implemented strategies to change the environments
and conditions in which people live, work, and play.
And they have stories
they're on engaging youth, engaging men and boys,
policy based prevention, creating safe community spaces.
So many different areas to explore.
But really, my favorite story, my favorite Delta
focus story is on trauma informed community building.
this is a strategy that really recognizes and uplifts the voices and leadership
of those who experienced disproportionate rates of trauma due to environmental
stressors and experiences of state sanctioned violence and oppression,
and the development of this story really inspired me to consider
what does survivor centered prevention look like in our work?
How can we bring survivors into prevention and, in a meaningful way,
in a way that really guides
the direction that we move in, with our prevention initiatives.
And so that's what I think really is the beauty in that particular story.
we're now just, starting to tell the stories of Delta impact,
programs and recipients in the Delta Impact program,
they really focused on improving the structural determinants
of health at the societal and community levels.
And so impact and change at these outermost levels of the social ecology
really depends on cross-sector cross movement partnerships.
And so that's why the recipients really wanted to focus on
how can we make accessible tools for building relationships,
fostering relationships
with those who are poised to partner with us, and advancing social change
knowing what we know that we cannot do the work in isolation.
We know that the partnerships are critical, and so the first Delta
impact story that we published was on pay equity and a thriving wage.
the next one, which will be coming very soon, is exploring health equity.
And what's unique about these stories is, first of all, they're completely created
in partnership with recipients bringing their experiences to life.
But both are graphic illustrations.
So you have a visual story, and we partnered with On the Right Mind,
to bring the graphic illustration components to the stories.
And really, what we do is explain how these issues are connected
to preventing gender based violence, and explore strategies that really work
to move us closer to this shared vision that we that we have
with those we partner with, where all individuals and families can thrive.
So I think what's been really interesting about the Delta Impact series
is that we've been able to really dig into these components,
and that may not feel, as connected to,
gender based violence prevention as we know that they are,
and really demonstrating those connections and why people should join us.
that together we can really create the change that we're looking for.
inspiring.
And I love the visual aspects
that have been incorporated in the most recent stories.
They really I mean, first, the art is just beautiful.
and, and they're so talented in what they do,
but it really does, I think, help make a connection
differently than just reading words on, on a screen or on paper.
so if, if our listeners have it, check those out.
I really, really encourage you to do that.
gosh. So, Casey, I'm wondering,
like, you have been around now watching the Delta project
transform and
shift and the field in general kind of,
you know, make those pivots and,
and make the case for prevention.
And I'm wondering, you know, given that experience,
what do you see for the future of of the Delta project?
And how do you see Delta recipients continuing to innovate
and lead in IPV prevention going forward?
Yeah, thank you for this question.
And I have to say, I feel very old now, know
having been on this journey for so long, but I am in it for the long haul.
and I can see I can see some amazing things coming.
So I think as we continue to think more expansively around
what prevention is and how it can be done and who we can partner with to get there,
we will continue to build this collective power.
And that's what's going to lead to the to the real change we want to see.
But as far as we've come,
many, many advocates working in the movement to end gender
based violence still do not see themselves as part of the prevention work.
many don't identify with the prevention language.
many, just aren't seeing
that they are engaged in prevention work on a daily basis.
That is contributing to meaningful change.
And so that's why it's been really critical.
The National IPV Prevention Council, who is we've talked about it a little bit.
There are leadership body comprised of both Delta and non Delta
funded coalitions, community based organizations, survivors.
And just really all kinds of partners at the table there.
They're working together to create a common definition for prevention,
something that really can resonate with all people, something that recognizes
the intersections of our work with other social movements.
Because really, we
think that if everyone can see their role in prevention
and if everyone can see their responsibility and the power
they have to make the change happen, we can do it together.
And so I think that's the thing that I think is the challenge we're facing
now is how do we bring everybody in, how do we create
an inclusive prevention movement that everybody feels a part of?
we know that belongingness is critical, right?
And so that's what we're talking about here.
Everyone belongs, no matter what your role is in the movement.
And so it's bringing everybody together
under that common understanding.
That is such an inspiring place to go and path to see forward.
We talk all the time about how prevention
provides this really transformational shift,
where we can be creative and where we can imagine transformational futures.
And I see that when you speak, you know,
Casey, thank you so much for not only sharing your valuable insights,
but also for being a part of shaping intimate partner violence prevention.
And you were a part of shaping my journey as a prevention first, I know
likely thousands of other prevention s all over the country.
you're perspective as a technical assistance provider really
highlights the incredible work and the impact of the Delta project,
and I'm so excited to be a part of it and really excited
to see where it goes.
thank you so much, Janine.
It's truly an honor, to hear that you see me in that light.
And it's just been an honor to witness this journey and be part of it.
I'm really grateful.
Thank you for inviting me.
thanks again, Casey.
And I just want to also
thank our listeners for tuning in to this episode of Delta Reflections.
Stay with us as we continue to explore more
incredible stories and achievements of the Delta Project.
We'll see you next time
you next time. Bye.
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