Ep. 27 What is Survivor Advocacy?

You may have heard about survivor advocacy but what does an advocate do for someone who has experienced power-based personal violence? Join Chloe Dauer (CSPA Practicum Student) and Veronica Jones (Interim Director of Health Promotion and Well-Being) in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. They explore the role of an advocate in supporting a survivor, how someone can become an advocate regardless of their field, and how to prevent burnout in a helping field.

Find JMU's Survivor Advocacy website --> here.

The Collins Center (Harrisonburg) can be found --> here.

The National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) --> here.

A full transcript of this week's episode can be found --> here.

Be well, Dukes!

All episodes of Season 1 (2020 - 2021) were recorded  when The Office of Health Promotion or, The Well, was a part of the University Health Center and located in the Student Success Center. As of summer 2021, The Well no longer exists and we are now UREC Health Promotion. Check out Season 2 Episode 1 to learn more about these changes or visit JMU University Recreation's website.

Transcript

Links

JMU Survivor Advocacy: https://www.jmu.edu/healthcenter/survivor-advocacy/index.shtml

Collins Center (Harrisonburg/Rockingham): https://www.thecollinscenter.org/

National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA): https://www.trynova.org/ 

Transcript

0:02 Intro: Hi there, welcome to Well Dukes, brought to you by The Well. Each week, you'll hear conversations from a variety of JMU staff and students that we hope challenge what you know, think, or do in regard to your own health, and help you be Well Dukes.

0:21 Jordan: Hey there everyone, it's Jordan, and with me for her last episode of the Well Dukes podcast is Mikayla. Mikayla, you're leaving us here at The Well for another position. So this has been such a great time doing this. And I'm so thankful that you have been doing this podcast with me and being my co-host for all of these episodes this semester.

0:48 Mikayla: Yeah, absolutely. It's been one of those experiences, I never in my life thought I would be a part of a podcast. And the fact that my voice lives recorded out there in the universe is always interesting to me. But it's been an awesome experience, nonetheless. But yeah, thinking about all of our episodes, and I've thoroughly enjoyed all the content that we've put out there. And for me to be here with my last episode, and being able to talk about survivor advocacy is really important to me, it's one of the topics that we haven't talked about as much, but it's a very important topic. It's the service and resource to students that is so valuable. And I'm excited that students get to learn more about this. So with that being said, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which is why we're doing this episode. And the national statistic is that one in five women will have experienced rape or attempted rape at some point in their life. For men, that number is one in seventy-one. Young adults, especially during the time of college are at higher risk. We are starting the month off with an episode on survivor advocacy to explain what it is and how it can support someone who has experienced sexual violence. 

1:57 Jordan: Yeah, our guests today are Veronica Jones and Chloe Dauer. We've had both Veronica and Chloe on episodes before, so happy to have them back. Veronica is a trained advocate here at JMU. And Chloe is doing her CSPA practicum with us here in The Well. Chloe also has an interest in sexual assault prevention and sexual violence prevention. And she's taking a lead on all of the great events that we have coming up in April. So it was a really great conversation to listen to. Veronica shares what advocacy is, how a student starts the process, how it can support students and other JMU community members, and also how someone who may be interested in supporting survivors can get involved.

2:41 Mikayla: Well, great. Let’s get started!

[Musical Interlude]

2:46 Chloe: Hi, Veronica, how are you today? 

2:48 Veronica: I'm good, Chloe, how are you?

2:50 Chloe: I'm good. I'm good. I'm hanging in there. Thank you for asking. So today, we're going to talk a little bit more about your role as an advocate in The Well and everything. And just for some context, I guess for the listener, but also for me, I'm new to campus. In general, I've only been here a little bit short of a year at this point. And I'm new to The Well, in general, as I just started working with y'all back in January. So if you could give us a little bit more information about what it is, what it means to be an advocate. Maybe what it is, what it's not just some context for the listener in that way.

3:25 Veronica: Absolutely. So, and I think that's a really good question to start with, because the term advocate and advocacy is used in a lot of different contexts, which is great, but can also be a little confusing at times for some. So for us specifically, we are survivor-- I'm a survivor advocate. And we provide survivor advocacy services in The Well. So essentially, this is for any student, undergraduate or graduate who has experienced any form of what I call “power based personal violence.” Underneath that umbrella would be any form of sexual violence, sexual harassment, stalking, dating, violence, anything like that. And the best way that I can describe it is advocacy can be a good, just initial landing spot after someone has experienced something or if someone is currently experiencing something. And essentially, as an advocate, I am confidential. So that means I do not have to share anything with anyone unless there is something like a harm to self or others that could be happening. Or if I made aware that there is a child in a home like a minor being harmed or on the other end of that, like an elder abuse situation or, say, incapacitated, adult, that kind of thing. Um, but and we're very clear about that from the beginning when we meet with students because I think someone who is seeking advocacy services, it's really good to know right from the bat, who's confidential, what does that mean? And then we go from there. And I would say advocacy is a place where students, again, kind of a landing spot to just take a moment. Just be. Learn what options and what resources are available either on campus and also in our community because we have some really great resources in the Harrisonburg/Rockingham area. And from there, it is really guided by the student. Students, they share as much or as little with me as they want to, I really don't need to ask a lot of questions. If I do, it's just to try to make sure I'm getting someone connected to the right resources, because sometimes we are looking at some time sensitive things. And really, from there it is up to the student if they want to pursue any options or not. And that's okay, too. Because it doesn't have to be a one and done conversation. I'm here survivor advocacy services are available for the entire time someone's a student, so maybe they come and learn about something and then decide, “okay, I want to do this for now.” Or maybe, “Thank you, I don't want to do anything, you know, I'm okay right now. And I just know what my options are.” And we can also provide accompaniment to help students get connected, say to counseling, or if someone chooses to make a report with Title IX, or even criminally, we can accompany students, and try to just kind of help guide students through different processes, because it can be overwhelming. And I'm always reminded of that, that students also have other lives, they’re students, there's a lot going on. So it can be hard to keep track of everything. So an advocate can kind of help do that as well, or ask questions and kind of help just sort things out, if you will. I would say what advocacy is not, we are not, we're not counselors. And I think sometimes that can be a fine line. I'm not a trained clinical counselor, or anything like that I am trained as an advocate. So I do think it can be important to let students know, as advocates, we can be a good... We can hold some space and help folks get what they need. And then and one of those things, sometimes that can be really helpful is a connection to counseling or longer term support there. I would also say too, because we are a large school, and we have so many great resources, it can be hard to keep them all straight. So one thing that advocacy also is not is, I am not a reporting mechanism, if you will, so if a student wants to report, I can help with that. But I am not the person to receive such reports again, because I'm confidential. So really, I would say the person who trained me, Jackie Hieber, a lovely advocate, she would always say advocacy can be a soft landing after something's happened. So you know, the landing is still going to happen. But we can help hopefully make it a little bit smoother and help folks get what they need afterward.

7:57 Chloe: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for such an all-encompassing explanation. That's super helpful for I hope the listeners but for me, it was. And I would love to, to articulate too, for the listeners, Is there like a timeline you have to work through from the instance of violence to when you seek an advocate? Or, like what is your perspective on that?

8:22 Veronica: I think it's whenever someone is ready, is the time to seek advocacy services. So it is quite possible for someone to have experienced something before they ever even came to college. And then maybe once they're here, things are starting to kind of creep up or, or maybe they're wanting some resources and options. If that's the case, and when you're here is the time to reach out. For some students, they may experience something and then very quickly afterward, they're seeking out advocacy services, it is really dependent upon the individual and there is no right or wrong. It's just really doing what feels most appropriate to the student in the moment. Because I think, for folks who maybe have gone for some time without seeking resources. They have very valid reasons for doing so you know, it's just very dependent upon the individual in the situation. I would also like to say that we provide services for students, undergraduate and graduate. And then also if someone has a friend who has experienced harm, and that friend is just not sure how to support, what to do, we can meet with their friends as well. If someone, a parent or family member, if they think their student has experienced something and they don't know how to start the conversation, we can chat too. We would never violate confidentiality, but we can always talk in general terms about how to support others.

9:55 Chloe: Absolutely, absolutely. So you're a soft landing for anyone who might have experienced any of these instances of violence that you kind of articulated earlier? as well as kind of a community resource for some of our JMU communities, stakeholders outside of the student body itself?

10:08 Veronica: Absolutely. Because it can be hard to know what to say. And, or sometimes folks have a conversation, and then they think, “Oh, gosh, did I say this the right thing? Did I do that?” And maybe they just want to debrief that. And I get that. And we can do that as well.

10:23 Chloe: Absolutely. That's awesome to know. That's really great. And I would-- one more logistical question I guess I have is, is this something that you have to make an appointment for? Or is this like, you walk in and you find one or you call?

10:37 Veronica: We're pretty flexible about it. We are here typically what I would call business hours. So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, from about eight to five; Thursdays from nine to five. Students are welcome to come by The Well. And if someone is immediately available, we can meet with them. If not, we do get contact information, and typically callback with usually the same day, if not within 24 business hours, or students can reach out via email if they want to set a specific day or time to meet. And throughout the pandemic, we have been meeting with students really at their preference, either in person, Zoom, or on the phone, we're willing to make anything work. 

11:19 Chloe: Excellent. That's great to know. Thank you. So now, I'm curious. I think a lot of students who listen might be interested in pursuing work like this in the future, or are just more curious about how this shows up. You know, obviously, in their own education, but kind of post-college, maybe pursuing advocacy as an advocate themselves or getting involved in community organizations like you had kind of alluded to earlier. So can you give some more information as to maybe how someone even becomes an advocate in the first place?

11:53 Veronica: Absolutely. I think one of the greatest things about serving as a, some people might say victim advocate survivor advocate, I'll use those interchangeably, is that it is a role that is really complementary to many, many fields of studies. So it, you know, a lot of folks will come to this maybe through the lens of working to become a counselor, some folks maybe through social work, other folks through maybe Justice Studies, but my background is health promotion. So it's not something honestly that, when I was in school studying, that I thought I was going to be doing and then throughout the course of my career, I came into it. And you know, I think a lot of helping fields have a lot of things in common. The one thing to be trained is there is something called NOVA, the National Organization for Victim Assistance. And then they oversee something called the National Advocate Credentialing Program. And essentially, to become any sort of, for them, they use the term victim advocate, you take a 40 hour training, and you can access multiple different trainings, some of you know and then submit your credentials. And then I was also fortunate enough, our local agency, the Collins Center, and Child Advocacy Center, which in our community, they respond to community instances of sexual violence, they have a 24 hour helpline, they are an amazing group in downtown, I was able to sit in on their advocate hotline training. So I also was able to boost up my, kind of, 40 hour training, which covers all types of victim advocacy, but I was able to really specialize with the Collins Center, which was fantastic. And then even here on campus, as part of my ongoing studies, I've been able to take a few just counseling classes. I'm not a counselor, but communication techniques and stuff, it was good to just help. And I was able to also audit a trauma response class in graduate psychology, which was also really cool as well. So some of it is training that you know, is very specific for a credential. And then I find most individuals also do ongoing studies on their own to just make sure they know as much as they can, because there is so much. But again, I think the great thing about advocacy, it does not have to be discipline specific. You can get to this through a variety of different routes.

14:22 Chloe: Absolutely. I think it's really awesome to hear how universally applicable it is to so many different fields of study, even but just interest areas and we all I think can share the fact that we've been maybe personally touched by stories like these in our own ways, and some people might be inspired to do work like this alongside or fully, you know, with whatever they choose to do after college.

14:48 Veronica: Yeah, well, you know, and not just-- I would say trauma is universal, and it may not be sexual trauma. It could be any kind of... people have trauma, especially if you're looking at something called the ACEs Study, the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study survey, I could be mixing those two up, but people have experienced trauma. So knowing how to respond to that would be-- creates an environment that we call as a trauma-informed environment. So hopefully, with more and more talk and work around what is trauma, how does it manifest in communities, individuals and so on, we can start to create a world in which we do operate in a more trauma-informed way for others because people have trauma.

15:28 Chloe: Yeah, absolutely. So even if it doesn't mean pursuing advocacy is, you know, part of your your paid position or anything, but just working with whatever your field is, in your career, anything like that, but kind of pursuing your day to day life in a way that maybe is trauma-informed in some capacity could be a really meaningful [Veronica: Oh, my gosh.] effort.

15:50 Veronica: Yeah, absolutely. Knowing that trauma is the undercurrent that a lot of people carry and how does that show up is just, it's huge. And just having that understanding can be... can really change relationships.

16:01 Chloe: Absolutely. Absolutely. That's, that's really, that's great to hear, I think. So I'm wondering, too, this field, I don't wanna say field of study, but just a field of engagement. This work specifically, I imagine it could be... It sounds really heavy. It sounds like there's a lot of opportunity, maybe for burnout in the field. I'm kind of curious, maybe if you could even give some personal feedback on what you do to stay engaged with your position to stay well, or even why people continue to work in advocacy when it can be so heavy for so many people. Even any perspective you could get on that?

16:42 Veronica: Yeah, absolutely. I think what I find the most is that it is yes, it can be difficult to, to hear how other people have been harmed. And thats universal, and counseling fields and everything like that, I'm sure. And yet to witness the resiliency and strength of individuals is amazing. So I think that is one thing that can help prevent burnout is that you are able to also know, yes, this happened. And wow, this individual is already seeking out their resources, their resiliency in their growth shines through or not even growth, but strength shines through. I think the other thing that can also be very difficult is it depends on the environment in which you are working. So if you are doing this kind of work in an environment that is not supportive, that is not trauma-informed itself, that's going to lead to burnout. If you are doing this kind of work in an environment where you are able to debrief with other advocates and know that you are-- that you know, when I say debrief not sharing confidential details, but knowing like, “Hey, you know, this was presented, this is my response,” you know, so you know, you're doing good work, because everyone likes to know, you did a good job, you've got this. I think we do that a lot by scheduling consultation with our community advocate. So we all know we're in this together, even as advocates here in the office, we have consultation together. Again, to make sure we are not operating in a vacuum. Because that's the thing that can get really, I think can become difficult. If I'm never talking to other advocates, about the kind of work that I'm doing, that's when I could start to feel lonely, and just kind of like I'm out here on my own. And that's, knowing that you have community in the work essentially, is one of the best ways to make sure that you do not burn out with this because it's not the work itself that's frustrating. It can be the systems that you know, individuals are running up against, that can become very frustrating. Yeah, it's never you know, it's not the it's not the student. It's not what's happened. It's knowing how the barriers that people face, after experiencing power based personal violence. That's where frustrations can come in. So having your community to share in that with you is huge.

19:04 Chloe: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I'm wondering if... are there ways for students to get involved with this kind of work or this sector of work, either in our community at JMU or after college?

19:19 Veronica: Absolutely. I would say first learning more about specifically what is it so talking to someone who works in the field to find out okay, what is it, asking questions, that kind of thing. And then also looking into the national advocate credentialing program, if there's an opportunity to volunteer with any organizations, help lines, things like that. I would highly recommend that because I think knowing about the kind of work that you're interested in before you get into it is very, very helpful. I always say that my undergrad was Exercise Science and it did not dawn on me until after I was working full time that a lot of people exercise early in the morning or after work, and that changed the hours in which I was working. So little things like that knowing what are you getting into before you do it? And do we even like it is is immensely helpful for any field. But also I think this one too and knowing what does burnout look like? What does compassion fatigue look like? How do folks stave that off? What do they do when they are feeling that way? Like I I'm an introvert. So there are some times I like to go home and not really talk and just kind of watch some HGTV and zone out a little bit and hang out with my dog like things like that are huge, and they keep you going. So knowing what what are some things that people have learned to stay engaged in the work for as long as possible?

20:42 Chloe: Yeah, absolutely. And even to acknowledge that you can still be passionate about this kind of work and not want to pursue it full time or not want to necessarily be a fully trained advocate, but you still want to, you still want to support organizations that you know, that are providing these services, or you still want to get involved even here with the well. Because you know that advocacy is one of our pillars.

21:11 Veronica: Oh my gosh. Yeah, advocates need advocates too. We need people especially I think about a lot of community counterparts, a lot of agencies and communities do a lot of fundraising, they have a lot of grants. So anyway, when folks are looking to give money, it can be helpful to give to community agencies, just telling people that this kind of thing exists. Because a lot of people, and I totally get this, are not outwardly looking for responsive services to violence proactively. That's not the world, we that's not a human mindset. And I think that's okay, that's, that's a tough way to live, you know, but to know that this is available, and to be aware of it, there's always going to be some folks who are a little more aware, and that's fine. But, so they can talk about it. So if it happens to someone that they know, it's, you know, “Hey, here's a resource,” you know, and word of mouth is huge. So I think just knowing about it is immensely important to share that with folks if and when they need it.

22:12 Chloe: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I'm, I'm curious, is there anything, as we kind of finish up today... Is there anything that you wish more people knew about advocacy in general?

22:25 Veronica: Yeah, I think I, well, again, it goes back to not always knowing what a responsive service is going to be until you need it. Which is fair, and yet, um, I would love for our students and our whole JMU community know that advocacy services are available to all students, um, you know, and that, if something has happened, we are here and we can be just kind of, again, that soft landing and help folks kind of explore their options and accompany them. We have so many great campus partners that we get referrals from, which is fantastic. But I also want someone to know, if they're not sure what to do, where to go. They want to-- they're sometimes it's a I'm not sure if this falls under this, you know, we can be that place to, to validate, to affirm, and to help folks just kind of figure out what the next step is going to be. So, you know, our campus partners are great, but we can be a first landing spot as well. And to let students know more than anything, even say they are going through different processes. And they haven't connected with us yet. That's okay. It's never too late. You do not have to go through any processes or anything alone. We are here to help with that.

23:40 Chloe: Absolutely. Absolutely. Almost like when in doubt, you can at least start here and we'll maybe get you where you need to go.

23:48 Veronica: Absolutely, absolutely. Because it can feel, you know, overwhelming. And I get that. And let us... we're here and we can help kind of take that load.

23:59 Chloe: Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, thank you, Veronica, thank you for being so intentional, and for giving such good information for our listeners and for our JMU community. And I'm excited to see how some of our students get more involved with advocacy in general.

24:14 Veronica: Great, thank you so much.

[Musical Interlude]

24:19 Mikayla: So as always another great episode of the Well Dukes podcast, Veronica and Chloe really just take this topic and provide such great information for students, especially for students that may not know what advocacy is. And I'll be honest, I really didn't understand what advocacy was until I started working here. And then it was just kind of by experience, asking our advocates, you know, “What do you all talk about? What do you do?” And learn that way. But I can imagine from a student perspective, they may not know what those terms mean, what does it mean to talk to an advocate? What does an advocate do? So I think this is just a really great conversation and maybe applicable to some of our students or their friends. 

25:01 Jordan: Yeah, absolutely, I think it's just another great step in the realm of preventing sexual violence. And as it had mentioned, you know, seeing an advocate is not prevention necessarily itself, it is something that unfortunately happens reactionary, so after someone has already experienced sexual violence. But I also think about just this information being shared, how beneficial and impactful it could be for someone that maybe has gone through something related to sexual violence, or someone has a friend or sibling that has gone through something, and just now knowing that this service is available, and that they have additional options that they have just someone to talk to that can help explain more of the process, what some, you know, what, what choices are. I think it's that component right there. It's just giving someone options and giving, giving them a little bit more... More power is right, it's empowering survivors to be able to make decisions on what they feel is best and what they need. So it's great that we are able to provide this confidential service, and so I hope that some people were able to take some really good information. 

26:13 Mikayla: Yeah, I agree. I especially think, too, the confidentiality piece. Having that explained” what does that mean, and having some autonomy as to what your decision is, as a result of those sessions is, is just really great to learn about. 

26:27 Jordan: Yeah. So to learn more about advocacy, or how you can get in touch with an advocate, check out the link in our description. There's information on national resources to learn more about sexual violence and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, as well as information on JMU and the local community resources like the Collins Center. Also, be sure to check out our social media either @JMUWellDukes or the health center @JMUHealthCenter all month to learn more about what events we have planned for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. 

27:00 Mikayla: And next week, we'll be hearing from a student that has gone through our Reflections program and shares their experience of evaluating the role that cannabis has played in their life. Following that, we're going to have Javay da Bae back for another episode in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month to talk about how to support survivors. 

27:18 Jordan: And if you're listening to this for HTH 100, your passcode is “advocacy.” So remember, be well, Dukes. Thanks Mikayla!

27:30 Mikayla: Bye, everybody!