the SPRING 2016 Newsletter

Spring 2016
BWIC’s 40th Anniversary Celebration features
The Healthy Village Project
HEALTHY
VILLAGE
PROJECT
THE
is BWIC’s 40th Anniversary of
2016
providing crisis intervention and ongoing
support to victims of domestic violence and
sexual assault in Berks County. A year-long
observance entitled The BWIC Healthy
Village Project is planned to highlight the
agency, focusing on community education and sexual assault services.
The concept “it takes a village (to raise a child)” also applies to our
efforts to engage the community around prevention of power-based
and partner violence.
The BWIC Healthy Village Project is a series of educational programs
and talks that will be presented to a variety of Berks County audiences
who have a stake in promoting the healthy, peaceful and supportive
co-existence of the people of the Berks County community. Audiences
will include high school and college students, legal professionals,
medical professionals, faith-based organizations, women’s groups,
professional groups and the general public.
Educational messages will be presented by nationally-known experts
in the field of domestic violence and sexual assault, including Katie
Koestner, a college campus rape survivor whose experience was
documented in the 1992 film “True Stories: No Visible Bruises – the
Katie Koestner Story,” and Gordon Braxton, a Pentagon official and
former specialist at Harvard’s Office of Sexual Assault Prevention.
In October, Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and
human rights advocate, will present his book, Half the Sky, about the
empowerment of women and girls, at the freshman seminar reading
event at Alvernia University. This event will be presented in partnership
with BWIC. In addition, local survivors of domestic violence and
sexual assault will also tell their stories to selected audiences.
block party or street fair. Using images, data, and stories collected
from our audiences, we will paint a picture of community concerns
and talk about the way BWIC and its supporting agencies may be bestpositioned to address them.
At the event, keynote speaker Victor Rivas Rivers, Cuban-born
Hollywood actor, best-selling author, and NFL football player,
will present his story, “I am the Child that the Village Raised: How
Teachers, Coaches and Schools Saved and Transformed my Life.”
Victor Rivers masterfully conveys own story of horrific abuse at the
hands of his father, and the “village” that raised him.
For more information about BWIC’s Healthy Village Project and the
40th Anniversary events, please visit our website.
2016 BWIC 40th Anniversary Events:
• A
pril 9: 2016 WALK FOR NO MORE at First Energy
Stadium/Fightins Opening Weekend
• M
ay 6: PeaceTrust and Friends Luncheon featuring survivor
speaker Katie Koestner at the Doubletree by Hilton in
downtown Reading
• J une 19: Full-page Father’s Day Pledge to End Violence ad in
the Reading Eagle
• October 5: Silent Witness Dedication & March at R.A.C.C.
• October 27: Nicholas Kristof event at Alvernia University
• D
ecember 12: Celebration of Peace at the Doubletree by
Hilton in downtown Reading
The December BWIC Celebration of Peace Event will mark the
culmination of the Healthy Village Project.
This year’s Celebration of Peace will have the feel of a neighborhood
Involving Men & Boys in Efforts to End Sexual Assault
H
istorically, when it comes to sexual assault and rape prevention
programming on college campuses and within our communities, we
have spent many hours and significant resources teaching women and
girls to travel in groups, protect their drinks at parties, and basically
to live their lives in a state of heightened alert to keep themselves safe.
What else can be done? What messages are we sending to men?
Broadcasting the message that men and boys should not commit
rape or sexual assault doesn’t work, because the vast majority of men
and boys are not perpetrators. Some boys and young men, as well as
women and girls, do not understand the laws as they relate to consent.
Continued on page 5
Page 2
A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
We recognize Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) this year while celebrating the 40th anniversary of Berks Women in Crisis
(BWIC) -- a time to honor the THOUSANDS of victims who have transformed their lives due to the support you have given us over these
many years.
In 1976, BWIC was one of the original organizations in the nation to recognize the problems of sexual assault and domestic violence and take
action to address it. Throughout the decades, supporters have enabled us to make history in changing laws, producing leaders in the field,
and most importantly, creating opportunity for a better future for those we serve. All who have played a role in this history have much to be
proud of and we thank you!
We are honoring our 40th anniversary by hosting a year of positive messages to audiences important to our mission of building resiliency
in the women, men and children of our community impacted by domestic violence and sexual assault. This effort will be known as BWIC’s
Healthy Village Project.
Through a series of carefully selected speakers and events, we will illustrate the potential for transforming community through coordinated
community action. Ultimately, we will encourage participants to join BWIC in our work and/or in adopting these proven practices in
addressing their own passion for a better Berks County. We will also use this opportunity to listen to the community as we prepare to improve
existing programs and implement new initiatives -- particularly in the area of prevention -- that are measurable and proven to be successful.
You have been with us in our work for these past 40 years, and we ask you to now partner with us in the yearlong Healthy Village Project that
will help us to celebrate our past and plan for our future.
As always, your support is greatly appreciated and is recognized as paramount in making our vision a reality. Please support as many of the
events that comprise our Healthy Village Project as possible at a level that works for you. The events are described more fully in this newsletter
and on our website. We ask that you make a commitment to stand with BWIC and end domestic violence and sexual assault in Berks County!
MEET BWIC’S NEW COUNSELING DEPARTMENT
I n early March, BWIC welcomed four new members of the
Counseling Department: the Director of Counseling, two
new Counselor/Advocates, and the new Safe Healing Project
Director.
BWIC’s Counseling Department offers trauma-informed
empowerment counseling, including crisis counseling and
ongoing support, for survivors of sexual assault and domestic
violence. Most BWIC Counseling clients are community
(non-residential) clients that were connected to the agency
via the Legal Department and various other referral sources.
All BWIC Counseling services are offered free of charge, and
are strictly confidential.
BWIC’s new Director of Counseling is Kathy L. Mallow,
MSW, LCSW. Ms. Mallow has extensive clinical and
administrative social work experience in multiple settings
with diverse populations, including survivors of domestic
violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Her most
recent experience includes therapy in private practice,
including extensive clinical and case management services,
in Reading and Hoboken, N.J.; consulting with national
employee assistance programs; and forensic consulting
and expert witness testimony. She relies upon her yoga and
meditation practices to sustain her in this work.
The Safe Healing Project (SHP) is a new BWIC initiative
that provides individual and group therapy services for
child victims of sexual violence. The project is funded by
the Endowment Act Fund of 2013, via fines imposed on
Continued on page 3
Page 3
MEET BWIC’S NEW COUNSELING DEPARTMENT Continued from page 2
Penn State University by the NCAA following the Jerry
spent 10 years doing crisis counseling and support groups
Sandusky scandal. BWIC and several other rape crisis
with children and adolescents. In her tenure there, she
centers across the state successfully competed for the grant
worked closely with the Lancaster County Children & Youth
funds to begin projects dedicated to supporting child victims
caseworkers, forensic interviewers, and law enforcement
of sexual assault and cross-agency collaboration with local
officers investigating child sexual abuse and assaults.
Children’s Alliance Centers. In Berks, BWIC is a member of
Olga Rodriguez and Molly Sanders, Esq. are the new BWIC
the multi-disciplinary investigative team of the Berks County
Children’s Alliance Center, which is a project of Opportunity
House.
Counselor/Advocates. Both women have been employed
by BWIC for a year – Olga as a Community Educator, and
Molly as a weekend Safe House Counselor/Advocate. Olga is
The Safe Healing Project Manager is Judith Churach, M.S.
bilingual (English/Spanish), and also assists in translation
Judith was previously a weekend Counselor/Advocate in the
of agency documents into Spanish. Molly is an attorney,
BWIC Safe House. She also prepared for this new BWIC
and received her Juris Doctorate from the University of the
position as Child Counselor/Advocate at the Sexual Assault
District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law.
Prevention and Counseling Center in Lancaster, where she
L to R – Counselor/Advocate Olga Rodriguez, Director of Counseling Kathy L. Mallow, MSW, LCSW, and Safe Healing Project Manager Judith Churach, MS.
Missing: Molly Sanders, Esq.
Page 4
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016-3PM
First Energy Stadium - Opening Weekend
All walk participants will receive a general admission ticket to Reading Fightins vs. Portland Sea Dogs (at 6:05pm)
Participants will raise funds to support BWIC’s core services
and programs! To join a fundraising team, or form your own,
visit: www.crowdrise.com/2016WALKFORNOMORE
CROWD RISE INSTRUCTIONS
1. To join an existing team, go to the bottom of the page and click on the team.
2. To create your own team, click the gray “SET UP your own fundraiser” button. On the next pop-up, click on ‘start your own fundraiser.’
3. Follow the instructions, including naming your fundraiser, which will give you a URL to use to promote your fundraiser.
4. O
nce you are registered, you can upload photos, edit your fundraiser and promote yourself to your friends, family and coworkers.
5. If you have any questions, see NEED HELP button on the right side of the page.
Page 5
Involving Men & Boys in Efforts to End Sexual Assault Continued from the cover
One primary prevention
violence reduction strategy
is to challenge traditional
and unhealthy gender
norms. We can start by
taking a good look at
how our society defines
masculinity,
as
Berks
Women in Crisis’ Education
& Community Outreach
program does in high
schools with the curriculum
“Young Men’s Work,” by
Paul Kivel. Kivel and others
remind us that there are some wonderful things that we teach our boys
about manhood. We teach them to be courageous, to be responsible, and
to take care of others. Along with these qualities, however, our boys are
also encouraged to strive for power, to have control in any situation, to
be dominant, and to have sexual conquests. Because we live in a society
where power and control are considered desirable (and masculine)
attributes, an environment is created where abuse is tolerated or socially
sanctioned, even prevalent.
One way that we can reduce sexual assault and rape is to teach our
boys to embrace the healthier components of masculinity such as being
courageous, responsible, and compassionate. If we teach our young boys
to value compassion as a masculine concept, there will not be any room
for violence, and we would foster a culture of people who take care of
each other.
We ask boys and men to join us in the understanding that it is the
responsibility of all of us to teach these concepts to boys – and, as men,
to model them. It is time for us to have conversations with our boys not
only about healthy masculinity, but also how to be an “upstander” when
confronted with situations where women, girls,
and other boys/men may be victimized. We
need to teach them to be courageous enough
to do their part in keeping their community
safe. If we dismantle the attitudes, beliefs,
and finally the practices that lead to rape and
sexual assault, we can change a community.
To learn more about
Berks Women in Crisis and our outreach to
men and boys, contact Matthew Bailey at
[email protected]
or call 610-373-1206 ext. 122.
Luncheon Presentation with Katie Koestner
‘Keeping your Kids Safe in a Hook-up Culture’
May 6, 2016 11:45 a.m. | Doubletree by Hilton, Reading,
701 Penn Street, Reading, PA (amphitheater)
40 for two tickets | $25 single ticket bring a friend!
$
Email [email protected] or
call Jan C. at 610-370-7604 to order tickets.
Contact us on the web at: www.berkswomenincrisis.org
For parents, educators, counselors and those interested in building
healthy social-connection skills in an adolescent.
Katie Koestner:
• Appeared on the cover of TIME magazine and was the subject of an HBO documentary, “No Visible Bruises.”
• She has been featured on: Lifetime, NBC Nightly News, CNN, CNBC, Larry King Live, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and
Good Morning America.
• Her highly sought-after lectures have been heard by the top officers of the Department of Defense,
incoming classes at MIT, Dartmouth, Brown, Amherst, Williams, West Point, as well as Fortune 500 Companies.
HEALTHY
VILLAGE
PROJECT
THE
This presentation has been underwritten by sponsors of Berks Women in Crisis’ Healthy Village Project
and dedicated to the members of BWIC’s PeaceTrust who faithfully support us.
NON-PROFIT ORG
US. POSTAGE
PAID
READING PA
PERMIT NO.
155
The vision of Berks Women in Crisis
is to eliminate domestic violence and
sexual assault in Berks County.
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Crisis Services
Counseling
Residential Services
Legal Services
Education & Community
Outreach
Systems Advocacy
Board of Directors
Missy Zimmerman, President
Vicki Ebner, Vice President
Jennifer Nied, Secretary
Steven Pottieger, Treasurer
Karima Archie
Nina Bohn
CALENDAR OF EVENTS SPRING 2016
Joseph J. Cicala, PhD
April is SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH (SAAM)!
Karen H. Cook, Esq.
Diane V. Duff
Jonathan D. Encarnacion
Susan Fromm
Laura Hayes
Amanda Jackowski
Jay Mahoney
Gerald Malick, M.D.
Michele McCartney
Mary Ann Moffitt
Helen Najarian
Stephen Ohsman, PhD
Mary Kay Bernosky, Esq., Executive Director
Christine Gilfillan, Associate Director
April 9: 2016 WALK FOR NO MORE: Together We Can End Domestic Violence and
Sexual Assault. See ad in this issue.
Screening of The Hunting Ground, a documentary film described by the NY
April 13 Times as “an unblinking look at sexual assaults on campus”: Penn State Berks
Multipurpose Room, 7PM-8:30PM
April 14: Screening of The Hunting Ground: Alvernia University,
Campus Commons Living Room 7PM-9 PM
April 21: “Take Back the Night,” Alvernia University, Campus Commons Living Room, 7 PM
April 21: Screening of The Hunting Ground: Albright College, Klein Hall, 4:30PM.
April 21: “Take Back the Night,” Kutztown University Alumni Plaza; 7PM
May 6: BWIC PeaceTrust & Friends Luncheon featuring survivor and activist speaker
Katie Koestner. See ad in this issue.
June 19: BWIC Father’s Day Pledge, on line and in the Reading Eagle. Visit our website
for more information.
BWIC’s CAMPpeaceworks, A Teen Alliance for Social Justice, Olivet’s Blue
June 18-22: Mountain Camp, Hamburg. Youth ages 13-17 may apply to attend free of
charge. Visit our website for applications and information.
Contact Tasha (610) 370-7811or visit www.berkswomenincrisis.org
for additional information on any event.
www.berkswomenincrisis.org
ContactUs
255 Chestnut Street, Reading, PA 19602; Phone: 610.373.1206;
Fax: 610.372.4188; Email: [email protected]