This only works as a network
We handle the standard of care, the funding, and the referral relationships. You bring the expertise. Providers get paid.
Four ways in
Teach or treat
Self-defense instructors, therapists, social workers, nurses, and physicians.
Refer clients
Shelters, DV and sexual assault agencies, caseworkers, schools, clinics, courts, and clergy.
Offer space
Gyms, churches, community centers, clinics, and libraries with a room and a door that closes.
Govern or volunteer
Board seats, the clinical advisor role, and volunteering that isn't instruction.
Instructors and clinicians
We're recruiting the founding roster now, ahead of our first classes.
You keep your own practice, your own gym, and your own schedule. We book you for ShadowWing sessions, pay you a professional rate, and carry the insurance and the safeguarding responsibility.
What we ask of you
- Finish our trauma-informed protocol training before your first session, whatever credentials you already have
- Background and reference checks, which are non-negotiable and which we pay for
- A willingness to teach fewer techniques, more slowly than you're used to
- Comfort with participants opting out, showing up late, leaving early, and coming back weeks later
- Proof of your certification, licensure, and liability coverage where your role calls for it
What you get from us
- Paid engagements, because this is contracted work and not volunteering
- Trauma-informed protocol training, delivered and paid for by us
- Participants who've been referred, prepared, and told what the format is
- Venue, scheduling, equipment, and safeguarding handled on our end
- A clinical advisor to escalate to when a session raises something outside your training
Self-defense instructors
Any background. What matters is whether you're willing to strip the syllabus down and hand control to the participant.
Licensed clinicians
Therapists and counselors who work in trauma, DV, or child welfare, to co-teach Track 3 and review what we're teaching.
Nurses and physicians
For provider training, guidance on screening participants, and the medical side of safety planning.
Social workers and advocates
To hold the bridge between our classes and the other services a participant needs.
Agencies and caseworkers
Send us one client, or bring us a whole group.
We come to your space, on your schedule, and your clients never get billed. You keep the relationship. We're the skills layer, not a competing case manager.
We'll sign an MOU, carry our own insurance, provide certificates and background checks for every instructor who walks into your building, and report attendance in whatever format your funder wants.
Individual referrals
Send one client with their consent. We contact them however you tell us is safe.
On-site groups
A closed group of six to twelve of your clients, in your building, over a set number of weeks.
Staff training
De-escalation and personal safety for your own frontline staff. We can bill for this one, and that's part of how the free classes get funded.
Space
The physical requirements are modest. A room that fits a dozen people, a door that closes, and privacy from foot traffic. Mats help but aren't essential.
Discretion matters more. Participants need to be able to arrive and leave without being seen by people who know them.
Gyms and dojos
Off-peak hours, a private mat space, and a separate entrance if you have one.
Churches and community centers
A meeting room and a regular slot. This is the most common venue for Tracks 1, 3, and 4.
Clinics and schools
Places clients or families already come, so showing up draws no attention.
Board seats and open roles
We're filling out the board and looking for a clinical advisor.
Our bylaws call for a board of at least three directors with a mix of legal or financial, clinical or mental health, and safety training experience. We're actively recruiting to fill that mix.
Clinical / Trauma Advisor
A licensed therapist working in trauma or domestic violence, to help design the curriculum, train instructors, and set the safety protocols. This is the role holding up our first classes.
Treasurer
Financial oversight, budgeting, and internal controls for a small nonprofit that intends to handle grant money responsibly.
Board directors
Legal, finance, and community leaders. Especially people with lived experience of the systems we work alongside.
Volunteers
Childcare during parent sessions, transportation, admin, and grant writing. Not glamorous, and the reason anyone can actually attend.
Tell us how you want to work with us
One form for every path. We'll route it from here.