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Service: Support Groups

Confidential, peer-led, trauma-informed.

Hope Harbour support groups are confidential, peer-led, and built around the truth that healing happens in connection. Victims and survivors talk with others walking similar paths, facilitated by people trained in trauma-informed group work. Showing up is the only requirement.

What's Included

How the groups work.

Support groups are not therapy and they are not advice. They are structured space for victims and survivors to be in the room together with people who understand without needing it explained.

  • Weekly meetings on a regular schedule, with stable groups so members come to know each other.
  • Trauma-informed facilitators trained specifically in domestic violence group work, not generic group counseling.
  • Structured curricula that move through topics like safety planning, healthy relationships, recovery from trauma, parenting after violence, and rebuilding identity.
  • Peer-led pieces where members lead segments, sharing their own experience when it helps the group.
  • Confidentiality is the rule. What gets said in group stays in group. Facilitators reinforce this every meeting.
  • Open-format and closed-format options. Some groups are ongoing (you can drop in). Others are closed cohorts that move through curriculum together.

What makes it work

Peer

led, not lectured

Groups work because members shape them. Facilitators hold the structure, but the conversation belongs to the people in the room. Trauma-informed and confidential, every time.

Call (706) 324-3850
Who Is Eligible

Anyone affected by domestic violence.

Support groups are open to:

  • Victims and survivors at any stage of leaving, staying, or rebuilding.
  • Past survivors who have been out of the relationship for years but still find groups helpful.
  • Family members and close friends in some support-of-survivors groups, when separate space is available.

You do not need to have been in Hope Harbour's shelter or other services to join a group. Walk-in welcome via hotline coordination.

How To Access

Hotline call to learn the schedule.

Group times, locations, and topics shift. Hotline call gets you the current schedule plus a brief intro to the facilitator before your first meeting.

1

Call the hotline

(706) 324-3850. Mention you are interested in support groups. The advocate shares the current group schedule and types.

2

Facilitator intro

Before your first group meeting, the facilitator reaches out to introduce themselves, answer questions, and tell you what to expect. Lower the threshold of showing up.

3

First meeting

Come when you are ready. There is no commitment requirement. You can attend once, take a break, return later, or come every week. Whatever works for your life.

Frequently Asked

About Support Groups.

DRAFT FAQ - pending approval from Lindsey + Monica. Drop pins on any answer that needs revision. Q&A pairs like these rank well in AI search engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini) when Hope Harbour content is cited.
How confidential is the group?

Group confidentiality is the rule. Members agree at the start that what is shared in the room stays in the room. Facilitators reinforce confidentiality every meeting. The only exceptions are legally mandated reporting requirements (child abuse, elder abuse, imminent threat of harm), which apply to facilitators only.

Do I have to share my story to be in a group?

No. Many members listen for weeks or months before sharing. Some never share details and find the group valuable anyway just by being in the room with others. The pace is yours.

Is there a support group for teenagers?

Teen-specific groups (focused on teens in dating violence relationships, or teens who witnessed violence at home) are offered when staffing and group composition allow. The Children's Program counselors coordinate teen group access.

How long do members usually stay in groups?

It varies widely. Some come for a few weeks during an acute period. Some stay for months as they work through curriculum. Some return periodically for years when life triggers bring up earlier trauma. All of those patterns are normal.

Ready To Talk?

Start with one phone call. We answer 24/7.

You do not need to know in advance whether Support Groups fits your situation. Call the hotline and an advocate will help you figure out what comes next.

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