Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
The Crisis Center on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 297
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We talk with Kathy Ray about receiving Kansas’ Visionary Voice Award and what it reveals about the long, steady work of supporting survivors. We also share how Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities, free Crisis Center services, and community giving keep prevention and response moving forward.
• receiving the Visionary Voice Award and why the work is collective
• Teal Tuesdays, Denim Day, and community events that spark honest talk
• how myths and self-blame keep survivors isolated
• free 24/7 support through hotline, advocacy, counseling, court help, and shelter
• why primary prevention starts with teaching healthy relationships
• how Grow Green Match Day donations cover gaps grants cannot
If you or somebody you know needs help, contact us. You know, our services are completely free, they're completely confidential. You do not have to go through this alone, and we are here ready to help.
Episode Sponsor And Setup
SPEAKER_00Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode, we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour, as heard on News Radio KMAN. And good morning. Welcome back again to the GMCF Community Hour here on News Radio KMAN. Kathy Ray is back.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Thank you, Dave.
SPEAKER_00Good morning and welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
Visionary Voice Award Recognition
SPEAKER_00Saw a little blurb in the news that uh you had received some special recognition at a conference when you're in Wichita the other day.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, I did. Um very honored uh to receive the National Sexual Violence Resource Center's Visionary Voice Award for Kansas.
SPEAKER_00Visionary Voice.
SPEAKER_01Visionary Voice Award, yes.
SPEAKER_00So give us a little background on what that means.
SPEAKER_01Well, so that um that award is um they do one per state, and that award is for individuals who have made a significant difference in the lives of victims and survivors of sexual violence. And so um, you know, I've been doing this work uh for well over 20 years now, and a lot of my work has uh focused on improving systematic responses. Um, so policies, laws, things like that, um, to improve responses to survivors. And um, so I was nominated by the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence uh for that award and was selected.
SPEAKER_00So congratulations.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, thank you. A huge honor, but I feel like that award belongs to to so many people, not just me.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, because you've got quite a crew that that you work with on a regular basis. And then uh a lot of experiences, a lot of lessons learned, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_01That's very true, very true. None nothing in the field of uh victim services is done in isolation, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_00So you have a teal ribbon on the lapel of your jacket.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month Actions
SPEAKER_01I do, yes, I do. So April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and uh we've been doing a number of awareness activities um to raise awareness during the month, and teal is the awareness color for sexual assault awareness month. So I wore my teal today.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so let's talk about what all is being recognized and promoted during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
SPEAKER_01Sure. So we've, you know, we're halfway through the month. Um this past Saturday, we had a wonderful uh community awareness event. We did a film screening and then we had a panel of um survivors and different professionals that are in the criminal justice system. So we watched a film called An Army of Women and uh then had a wonderful discussion uh about the film and about the impacts of sexual assault and rape on Manhattan, Riley County, the impact on um pretty much everyone, because we know that um nearly half of all women and about one in six men have experienced contact sexual violence at some point in their life. And so it is an issue that affects so many in our community. Um, so we had a great conversation there. Uh, what we have left for the month, we are doing what we call teal Tuesdays. Um, so every Tuesday we're encouraging the community to wear teal um to show your support for victims and survivors and post selfie. So our Facebook is um at the Crisis Center Inc. And we'd like people to post and engage with us and use the hashtags and all the things. I'm by no means the social media expert. Um, and then we also have denim day. So denim day is April 29th. That is a national day that's been going on for a long time. And uh people are encouraged to wear jeans or denim on denim day, which um is a sign of really protesting some of the misconceptions and stereotypes around sexual assault or victims of sexual assault.
SPEAKER_00So you get bonus points if you wear teal denim.
SPEAKER_01You know, if you find some teal denim, let me know because I'm gonna need some of that for my board directly. Yes, sir.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, we've got um a number of activ, you know, those things uh are what we have left for the month. Of course, uh the city, um, the city commission and mayor did declare um April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month through a proclamation earlier in the month. And so we really just try to engage with the community throughout the month and do various things. We do have um tables up, you know, we do serve five counties, and our table for the month um in Riley County is at the Manhattan Public Library. Um, so we put one up in every county to really get some resources out. Um, you just never know who's gonna need our services and need the support.
Myths Self Blame And MeToo
SPEAKER_00So I think it's somewhat fascinating to see how far victims of sexual assault have been able to come because it was such a hidden thing. You just didn't talk about it 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00And now it's empowering to be able to talk about it. And I think that that says a lot about the messages that organizations like you at the Crisis Center are trying to uh to get victims to embrace.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Yeah. I look back over the last 20 plus years that I've been in this field, and um a lot has changed. You're right. Um, I remember the Me Too movement. Um you probably remember that uh in the media where that really shifted our ability to talk about um sexual assault and rape in the public sector.
SPEAKER_00Um and it's still there today.
SPEAKER_01And we are shifting um how we how we support victims and survivors and believe them and hold perpetrators accountable. So so yeah, we have a long way to go. Yeah um, but a lot has changed, you're right, and we continue to try to make those positive changes.
SPEAKER_00And it doesn't seem like that there is any immunity from it, regardless of your age. Right. Uh regardless of your gender, that's right, sexuality.
SPEAKER_01That's right. Absolutely. Yeah. It doesn't discriminate and it can affect anyone.
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm. I know that, you know, your your story with your sister.
SPEAKER_01Uh yes, my cousin. Your cousin. My cousin when I was a teenager. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. And, you know, since then I've had many uh family members who have experienced sexual assault and friends and um seeing them navigate uh the choices they need to make. And, you know, do I report, do I not report, do I tell my mother, do I not tell my mother? Um, and certainly the self-blame that a lot of victims feel. What could I have done to prevent this? Um, and that's really a societal thing that we teach people, you know, you're responsible to protect yourself, you're responsible to do A through Z to keep yourself from being sexually assaulted. Um and if you don't do all those things perfectly, then it's your fault. When the reality is I can do A through Z perfect and still be sexually assaulted. Um, so, you know, those are just myths that we try to dispel and have a community that that does believe survivors that support survivors.
Crisis Center Services That Are Free
SPEAKER_00Let's talk a bit about the crisis center itself and some of the uh resources that you have available and the services that you provide, because it's uh, you know, every every scenario that you have has some differentiation from others that you serve. But no, there is that consistency that that violence is a part of it.
SPEAKER_01Right. Yes. So we uh we serve uh victims and survivors of both domestic violence or sexual assault. Um we serve primary victims, so the person who has experienced that violence directly. Um, and we also serve what we call secondary victims. So that may be children, that may be a parent, that may be a partner, those are people who are um also affected by the violence or abuse um their loved one has experienced. And so we have a range of services. Um the most important thing is that they're all free. So we never charge anything for any of our services, and they're available around the clock 24-7. Um, if somebody needs us, we are there and ready to respond. So we have everything from our 24-hour helpline. That's probably the easiest way for someone to get in touch with us. Um, we do everything from personal advocacy and counseling, that one-on-one support. Um, we provide court advocacy. So if somebody needs a protection order or maybe they um have a criminal case that's going on, they're a crime victim. We provide support throughout that whole process. We also have our police response advocacy program in Riley County. So every domestic violence call that RCPD gets, they automatically dispatch one of our advocates to the scene. Um so we provide that early intervention for victims on scene and get them connected if they need shelter. Um, we have a safe shelter. And so we have a number of services. We have support groups. Um, we, you know, our services are really tailored to the individual situation. As you mentioned, everybody's situation is so unique. And so they're really tailored to what that person wants to have happen. Sometimes it may be, you know, I moved here uh, you know, because we're close to the military. Somebody, you know, recently moved here to be with um someone they thought was going to be their, you know, uh that they were gonna get married. And turns out they were abusive. And so they just wanted to get back home. So we helped buy that bus ticket back home. So sometimes it's that, and other times we have people who stay in our safe shelter for, you know, months until they're able to rebuild their life and get back on their feet. And our advocates helped them at every step with that.
SPEAKER_00There have been some major advancements, like you had said, you know, the the the collaborative effort that you know you have with RCPD now and and law enforcement seems to be, you know, widespread, but becoming more and more engaged and and helpful for for victims. Right. What would be the next thing that you would like to see organizations like the crisis center really jump on board and try to to develop to help help these survivors?
Prevention Work And Funding Gaps
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Well, we always talk about working ourselves out of the job. We want to we want to get to a place where we're preventing this abuse and violence from ever happening in the first place. And that requires prevention work or primary prevention work where we are educating kids at a young age. What does it mean to have a healthy relationship? What does it mean to um be in a relationship that's based on respect and equity? Um, what does it mean to have a community who where the norm is, you know, if somebody commits a rape, that is not tolerated here. Um, those messages, those laws, those um conversations we have in our own relationships. So we want to do prevention work. And unfortunately, that work is not funded um through the the grants and the normal funding sources we receive to do the intervention work. And so a lot of times it feels like, you know, um, if we really want to end domestic violence and end sexual assault, we really have to start doing more of that prevention.
Grow Green Match Day Support
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Let's talk about any event that's coming up this week. Grow Green Match Day. Yes. You've heard of it.
SPEAKER_01Oh, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00It is uh it is uh a keynote day, I think, in in every nonprofit's calendar. Yes. Let's talk about what it means to the crisis center to have those contributions come through on Grow Green Match Day.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, yes. And we are happy and fortunate to be able to participate in Match Day each year and really do rely on it. So a big portion of our budget is not funded by local, state, or federal grants. And, you know, we don't charge for services. So we do not have that stream of funds coming in where we can charge insurance or these other things. And so we rely on those contributions to help fill the gaps where the state and federal grants, um, the local grants do not, you know, fund specific things. So for example, right now um at our safe shelter, we learned last week that we have a uh leak that's been going on for quite some time. We have a bathroom floor and subfloor currently being torn out as we speak to be rebuilt.
SPEAKER_00You know, those are things government just didn't give you grants to have somebody come in and fix it for you?
SPEAKER_01You know, they don't like to fund the remodel construction work. Um those are also things that are on, you know, we don't plan, we plan for those. Like we, you know, we know when you have a house where 40 people live at any given time, you're gonna have these things come up. So we while we try to budget for it, it, you know, there are some things that come up that are larger than what we've planned for for maintenance and repair. And so that's where these donations really come in. They help us um keep our facility, you know, going. You know, we had the plumber out last week on another issue. Um, a toy had made its way into the toilet, you know, things like that that come up. Um, but we also have a number of our operating and personnel costs that are not funded by by grants. And so we use these funds to help support that. And so we always tell people, you know, your contributions go directly back to the victims and survivors we serve, you know, whether that's groceries for the safe shelter, um, our community does a wonderful job providing a lot of the deodorant and laundry detergent and things that we need, you know, because we provide all of that. They don't have to provide any of that while they're living there. And so um those, I you know, I just can't speak enough to the importance those contributions are to our 20 our ability to do our 24-7 services.
SPEAKER_00So well, you have a special month here with sexual assault awareness month.
How To Join And Get Help
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00Remind folks once again some of the things that they could do to participate.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. So we've got Teal Tuesdays left. We have uh tomorrow and Tuesday of next week left, we have Wednesday uh the 29th is denim day. And if people want to find us on Facebook at the Christ at Crisis Center Inc., um, we'll be posting about all of that. Our calendar events are also there. Um and then I just, you know, I'd like to remind people that if if you or somebody you know needs help, contact us. You know, our services are completely free, they're completely confidential. You do not have to go through this alone, and we are here ready to help. So I always like to to plug that as well.
SPEAKER_00Well, thanks for all you and your volunteers and staff do to help those victims and uh continued good wishes and congratulations again on your uh nice state award.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much, sir, and thank you for all you do to help us um elevate our voice in the community and um reach people with this critical information. We appreciate you.
Closing And Next Guest Tease
SPEAKER_00The next voice we're gonna elevate is that of Blade Mages. He is with Wareham Hall. Quite a project down on points. We'll talk about that effort in just a couple of moments. Once we return from the GM for the GMCF Community Hour, here on News Radio K M A N.