The Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region hosted its annual fundraising gala and a Conestoga team attended as part of the college's ongoing support of the non-profit organization that provides vital resources for the community including students.
A Conestoga team attended the annual fundraising gala for the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region. The college provides ongoing support to the non-profit organization that provides vital resources for the community including students.
The centre has partnerships with the region's post-secondary institutions including Conestoga, which provide resources to the charity that relies on fundraising on top of provincial funding to be able to offer the services needed by survivors of sexual violence including individual counselling.
"Sexual violence can happen anywhere, anytime to anyone. It's important that these services are available to all members of our community when they need it," said Lyndsey Butcher, director of services.
Most clients are under 24 and those aged 16 to 24 are most at risk of sexual violence. That heightened risk among young adults is why prevention efforts are a big focus of efforts on local campuses.
The centre attends campus events, and hosts workshops and presentations aimed at preventing sexual violence. Educational efforts aim to educate young adults about healthy relationships and how to be safe in their dating lives, as well as working with men around fostering healthy masculinity.
"It's really important to address those when people are younger and can understand how to be healthy and safe and how to ask for consent in their relationships," Butcher said.
The centre also provides support through a 24-hour hotline and accompanying survivors to appointments with health-care providers or police. Partnerships with local post-secondary institutions make those services available in a timely manner to students.
"They can receive care very quickly if they are in need," Butcher said. "The sooner that they can access counselling and support, the better the outcomes are in terms of the impact the trauma's had on them."
The sold-out gala held in Waterloo on November 2 included a survivor of human trafficking who spoke about their experience and five years of support received from the centre on the journey to recovery from trauma and related issues.
Trish Weigel Green, vice-president, Students, said sexual assault support centres offer important and specialized services and expertise to the communities they serve. "We look forward to continuing our longstanding partnership with the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region in support of our students and our community."
Jess Doroshenko, manager of Sexual & Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Support, said the office is grateful to have such a range of options for students impacted by sexual or gender-based violence.
"Conestoga has a robust set of resources available to all students, including our own counselling team who provide easily accessible and trauma-informed one-on-one support, our housing team who work to ensure students have access to emergency housing in crisis situations and a dedicated sexual and gender-based violence prevention and support co-ordinator who supports students in navigating complex systems and ensuring their needs are met in a trauma-informed and person-centred way."
For those students who prefer to access resources in the community, Doroshenko said it is great to have community partners to lean on such as the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region to provide around-the-clock access to crisis services and in-person support at the hospital, police station and court.
"Sexual and gender-based violence is a systemic issue and it takes an entire community, working together, to create a safe environment and dismantle the systems that allow it to persist," Doroshenko said. "The Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo has also been an invaluable partner in supporting Conestoga's Consent Culture campaign by offering a variety of educational opportunities on topics related to consent, healthy relationships and bystander intervention."
Conestoga students have access to confidential, one-to-one appointments with counsellors who are available to help students work through issues affecting their mental health. There is no cost to meet with a counsellor and appointments can be in-person, virtual or by telephone at all campuses.
Visit the mental health support page for more supports and resources available to Conestoga students.
For more information
299 Doon Valley Drive
Kitchener Ontario
Canada N2G 4M4
www.conestogac.on.ca/
