BAR REPORT—NJSBF Grant Will Fund Bergen County College Staff Sexual Assault Response Training
A grant from the New Jersey State Bar Foundation (NJSBF) will help the YWCA Bergen County train college campus staff members in sexual assault response and prevention this fall.
August 27, 2018 at 04:30 PM
3 minute read
A grant from the New Jersey State Bar Foundation (NJSBF) will help the YWCA Bergen County train college campus staff members in sexual assault response and prevention this fall.
The program, named Title IX New Jersey, is intended to ensure that Northern New Jersey colleges and universities are aware of their legal responsibilities to provide programming to prevent assaults as well as address the needs of survivors. The trainings will be conducted by instructors from YWCA Bergen County healingSPACE, a sexual violence resource center.
YWCA Bergen County applied for funding from the NJSBF after the organization's CEO, Helen Archontou, participated for the last two years in a special program on sexual assault on college campuses hosted by the foundation and the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA).
A recurring theme in the conversation, she said, was the limited staff and resources on college campuses.
“Schools have a lot of different pieces pulling at them and requirements that they have to introduce to their campus community,” Archontou said. “A program like this will allow us to come in and make sure that all the college staff that we are working with are really aware of the laws that are impacting their work and making sure they are trained to meet those obligations.”
The issues involved in this kind of work are nuanced and complex. The focused training and information will expand college staff knowledge and reaffirm that they have a partner in the community when it comes to matters related to sexual violence, Archontou said.
There are nine higher education institutions located within Bergen County. “We're an area that's probably smaller in size than other counties, but dense in population,” Archontou said. “We definitely are a good place for something like this to be launched.”
The hope, she said, is to eventually replicate the program in other parts of the state.
YWCA Bergen County healingSPACE is the only sexual violence resource center of its kind in Bergen County. It operates a 24/7 crisis intervention hotline and provides free and confidential assistance. healingSPACE also offers support groups, volunteer training and educational programs for schools and businesses.
The NJSBF is the charitable arm of the New Jersey State Bar Association. The foundation receives 12.5 percent of the net revenue from New Jersey lawyer IOLTA accounts, and disburses those funds for public programs on justice and education about the law.
Foundation executive board members include Susan Feeney, NJSBF president; Norberto A. Garcia, first vice president; Kathleen N. Fennelly, second vice president; Charles J. Stoia, treasurer; Ralph J. Lamparello, secretary; and Lynne Fontaine Newsome, immediate past president.
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