The Transforming Communities information packet describes the Novato Community Demonstration Project of Marin Abused Women's Services(MAWS), California. It details experiences including: the project's focus on changing social belief systems (its primary vs. secondary vs. tertiary prevention efforts); the steps involved in mobilizing Community Action Teams(CAT) of volunteer community members to run activism campaigns; a description of a CAT organizer's role; descriptions of the Novato Project implementation including initial recruitment strategies and case studies of their Media CAT and TEEN CAT; and, its evaluation process, barriers faced and lessons learned, and several issues that emerged during the project (e.g. issues specific to teenage girls versus adult men, or adult women; community awareness, funding issues, etc.).

The Attachments for the Transforming Communities packet include samples of: CAT media pieces on varied community issues and the media's coverage of CAT activism, CAT letters and postcards reacting to offensive advertisements, and company and community responses to their actions. The Attachments are presently only available in print paper copy from the NRC's Public Education Specialist at 1-800-537-2238, or TTY 1-800-553-2508.

This booklet is one in a series of six demonstration project reports coordinated by the Public Education Technical Assistance Project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRC).

• Transforming Communities: Creating Safety and Justice for Women and Girls