Domestic violence focus of Hope for Peace rally at campus April 15

Alle-Kiski Area Hope Center and Penn State New Kensington are the co-sponsors of the "Hope for Peace Rally" at the campus on April 15.

“Serving Victims, Building Trust, Restoring Hope”

11 a.m. Friday, April 15, Conference Center.

Upper Burrell, Pa. -- In honor of National Crime Victims Rights Week, Penn State New Kensington and the Alle-Kiski Area Hope Center will co-sponsor the “Hope for Peace Rally” at 11 a.m., Friday, April 15, in the campus Conference Center. The event is free to the public.

“Serving Victims, Building Trust, Restoring Hope” is the theme, and domestic violence is the target of the rally. Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior by a spouse or partner with the intention to gain control over an intimate person or others residing in the same domestic setting. The victims of the abuse are usually women and sometimes children. Domestic violence occurs when the abuser believes that abuse is acceptable, justified, or unlikely to be reported.

Guest speakers will include survivors, advocates, educators and students. They will talk about the physical, emotional, social and moral safety of individuals and provide information on breaking the cycle of violence. The presenters will define the various types of abuse and help victims formulate safety plans, such as keeping a list of important phone numbers -- police, domestic violence hotline, hospitals -- with them at all times.

The Hope Center is a nonprofit organization of social change. The center advocates the elimination of domestic violence through intervention, prevention and collaboration. It seeks to change society’s behaviors, values, and social institutions that create oppression.

National Crime Victims' Rights Week, April 10–16, is an annual observance that underscores the importance of early intervention and victim services in establishing trust with victims, which in turn begins to restore their hope for healing and recovery. The week is marked by an award ceremony on April 12 in Washington, D.C. Individuals and organizations that demonstrate outstanding service in supporting victims and victim services are recognized by the Office for Victims of Crime, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice.

For more information on the campus rally, call 724-224-1100.

 Susan Dale, staff assistant for Academic Affairs at
Penn State New Kensington, helps a student apply another green handprint to a Stand for State poster as a show of support during the start of the awareness campaign in January.

Campus takes on sexual assault
The New Kensington campus also is combating sexual assaults through a new initiative, Stand for State. The University-wide effort promotes bystander intervention and its place in preventing sexual and relationship violence. Bystander intervention is based on the fact that people make decisions and continue behaviors based on the reactions they receive from others. The program promotes a sense of responsibility, which gives the bystander motivation to step in and take action.

The culmination of two years of planning, Stand for State uses a bystander intervention curriculum created by Green Dot, a national leader in violence prevention education. Green Dot is built on the premise that in order to reduce harm in a community, a cultural shift is necessary -- that each person can play a role in creating a safe environment. A critical mass of people needs to engage in new behaviors that will make violence and harm, called red dots, less likely in local communities. Red dots represent a moment when words, choices, or behaviors contribute to sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, stalking, bullying or abuse. The new behaviors are called green dots. A green dot is pulling a friend out of a high-risk situation, checking on a colleague who you are worried about, or telling someone to back off. Simply put, a green dot is an individual choice at any given moment to make the community safe. The key tactics for intervening and removing someone from harm’s way are Green Dot’s Three Ds: direct, delegate and distract.

Seven staff and administrators from the New Kensington campus joined 200 of their counterparts from across the University recently for Green Dot's bystander intervention training, where they learned techniques to combat sexual misconduct. The workshops focused on providing participants with the skills to recognize potentially problematic situations, step in and diffuse the situations when appropriate, and seek help when needed.

The campus trainers include: Wesley Sheets, public safety manager; Paula Dove; administrative support assistant for Student Affairs; Susan Dale, administrative support assistant for Academic Affairs; Tracy Gustafson, administrative support assistant for Athletics; Sarah Conte, assistant coordinator of academic and career services; Theresa Bonk, director of student affairs; and Lauren Blum, assistant to the director of student affairs. The trainers will implement bystander intervention workshops for student leaders.

New Kensington kicked off the movement in January with a weeklong awareness campaign. The next phase of the campaign is bystander intervention for campus students. The session is slated from 1 to 4 p.m., April 15, following the talk on domestic violence.

While the Bystander Intervention is initially focused on sexual and relationship violence, it will be expanded to include bystander intervention for mental health-related issues, bias-related incidents, and risky drinking and drug use.

To RSVP for the training session or for more information, contact Lauren Blum at 724-334-6063 or ldb14@psu.edu

News Contact: Bill Woodard
Alumni and Public Relations
724-334-6049, uxw1@psu.edu