Many forms of family and community violence are interrelated, including child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, teen violence, and animal cruelty. Through the First Strike® campaign's training outreach to key members of the animal protection community and their counterparts in human service fields, we encourage and support the development of innovative interagency programs and collaborations. These partnerships between local agencies aid in early detection and prevention of violence toward humans and animals.

Local workshops conducted in conjunction with the First Strike campaign have served as models for building successful grassroots coalitions incorporating many of the stakeholders who encounter abuse and neglect. The workshops also provide community leaders with many useful tools for recognizing, responding to, and preventing both family and community violence.

First Strike workshops are designed to train professionals such as educators, humane investigators, veterinarians, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, domestic violence and child welfare advocates, adult protective service professionals, and other anti-violence advocates to recognize the connection between animal cruelty and human violence, and to intervene effectively before violence occurs.