By Gabrielle Chaudry, Staff Writer
The Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Center recently received a campus grant from the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (DOJ OVW) for $299,328. The grant is a continuation of a three-year grant the center received in 2017.
Christiana Paradis, program coordinator for the DOJ OVW grant, said: “Anytime you receive a grant as large as this one it is wonderful. It validates that our work over the last three years has been substantial and impactful. You have to show many different tangible outcomes in order to be continued, so it was nice to receive that recognition from a federal agency like the Office [on] Violence Against Women.”
Looking back at what the center had accomplished, Paradis felt like there were still areas that needed improvement. Paradis, along with other members of the center, decided to apply for the grant for continuation.
“This is a federal grant. We currently have the three-year campus grant. We applied for a three-year continuation grant so that we could continue our work. We are elated to receive the grant,” Paradis said. “COVID-19 has certainly made things challenging and less certain, but this grant assures that the VIP Center, my position and our campus victim advocate will be here and funded for another three years.”
“The grant writing process took nearly five months, it was no small task. It took numerous offices pulling a variety of statistics, it took signatures of 19 campus and community partners and two grant writers to complete it,” Paradis said.
Members of the center were proud to receive the grant of continuation. The process was long, yet they knew it was important to maintain the center on campus.
The center specifically hopes to expand training and technical assistance opportunities for members of the Coordinated Community Response Team and campus community. They also plan to establish a lethality assessment program, a strategy to prevent domestic violence homicides and serious injuries. The center will work alongside Public Safety and the Selinsgrove police in that initiative. Increased access to survivor materials and resources will be made available in other languages to reach more students.
In terms of community impact, Paradis said, “Students benefit from the grant because it assures students that a team of individuals are meeting every month while simultaneously working on a variety of projects to continue to improve our mechanisms for student safety, communication and best practice response. It also allows us to be able to have a full-time person devoted to campus prevention and victim services.”
“This means that we’re able to increase the number of programs and students reached through prevention programming and direct services,” Paradis continued. “Students can get involved in the center by emailing me at paradis@susqu.edu. We have a handful of student worker positions each year and volunteer positions.”
The VIP Center was able to accomplish many of its goals with the original grant they received from the DOJ in 2017. They were able to hire Paradis as the program coordinator in January 2018 due to the grant. Paradis and her colleagues at Susquehanna wrote a 30-page plan that the DOJ approved of.
One piece of the grant they wrote included developing a coordinated community response team. There are currently 19 members on the team and four community partners. The team was then divided into four different sub-committees so each group would focus on specific tasks associated with their area.
The Victim Service Committee identified that there was no central place for victims to go on campus if they were affected by sexual misconduct or gender-based violence. This need for a main location led to the VIP Center’s establishment in the fall of 2018.
Transitions of PA, a crisis center that provides advocacy and education to those struggling with violence and abuse located in Lewisburg, Pa., works with the VIP Center to provide resources and assistance. Those on campus have access to 24/7 crisis emergency services for victims of domestic and sexual abuse, as well as resources to help victims and survivors.
The Conduct Sub-Committee rewrote gender-based violence policies at Susquehanna. Those policies were implemented last year. All conduct board members were trained. The committee also developed assessments so students could rate, review and evaluate processes anonymously after they attend a conduct hearing or after meeting with a Title 9 coordinator.
The Law Enforcement Sub-Committee signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Selinsgrove Borough Police Department that made it easier for the two departments to work together. The Department of Public Safety and Selinsgrove Borough Police Department were trained in working with survivors or those experiencing sexual violence. The committee made opportunities available to officers every three months for training in situations like trauma 101, working with LGBTQ+ victims and talking about dating and violence within communities of color.
There is also now county-wide protocol that includes provisions which specifically apply to Susquehanna students. The grant meant the center could carry out its prevention plan that implemented campus-wide prevention plans and policies.
Due to the grant and work of its members, the VIP center has worked to make Susquehanna a safer place with an inclusive environment.
Part of the DOJ requirement was that all first-year students are trained in sexual misconduct and gender based violence. Students are required to take online modules that explain and cover topics like what constitutes sexual misconduct. They learn where to report their concerns, what resources are available to them and who they can contact. First-year students are also required to attend a speech on the topic of healthy relationships.
Seventy-five percent of students attended two or more training sessions last year, according to Paradis. In 2018-2019, 70 trainings reached around 2,500 people. In 2019-2020, 65 trainings reached almost 3,000 people, the number of trainings being reduced due to COVID-19. The center also requested all new student ID cards have emergency phone numbers on the back so students can easily find and contact people with their concerns.
The center works with the Global Opportunities (GO) Office so students can identify if the country they are thinking about going to has safety risks around sexual misconduct and gender-based violence.
The center’s student safety website, launched last fall, reached 3,400 people in its first month. The Engaging Men Committee launched as well, featuring men from across campus, to discuss issues of masculinity and creating a safer campus, and all are welcome to join.
Additionally, all new staff are required to be trained on prevention efforts and survivor services. An NCAA mandate requires athletes to receive annual training as well.
2020 marks the launch of the Green Dot Bystander Intervention Program. The initiative launches this fall, and 17 staff members were trained in the program. The center hopes to focus on broadening the reach of the program.
Additional information about the VIP center can be found on Susquehanna’s website. Questions about victim services can be sent to taylorjennifer@susqu.edu.
A recording of Paradis’s new grant discussion can be viewed on Susquehanna’s YouTube channel.
