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LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. – The Women’s Center, with support from a three-year grant from the Office on Violence Against Women in the U.S. Department of Justice, has increased training opportunities for staff through community engagement and training workshops.
Members of Lincoln's Coordinated Community Response Team pose for a group photo at the Summer Training and Technical Institute hosted by the Office of Violence Against Women in Fort Worth, Texas | Courtesy Photo
Using the $299,000 grant, the Women’s Center hired a new sexual assault coordinator, Tiphané Purnell, and a part-time program assistant, Ashley Torres, to coordinate prevention and intervention efforts.
The goal of the grant program is to help colleges and universities create effective and comprehensive responses to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
The grant enabled Lincoln to bring together key stakeholders from the surrounding community including students, faculty, staff, and administrators to create a Coordinated Community Response Team responsible for facilitating communication between key campus departments and community partners while ensuring responses to victims are seamless, consistent and supportive.
In June, members of the CCRT attended the Summer Training and Technical Institute hosted by the Office of Violence Against Women, in Fort Worth, Texas. The team received intensive training and participated in peer-to-peer learning opportunities that focused on creating effective and comprehensive responses to sexual assault and domestic violence on campus.
Those in attendance included Dr. Lenetta Lee, dean of the college and vice president of Student Success, Rachel Manson, director of Lincoln’s Women’s Center, Tiphané Purnell, Gerald Garlic, director of Equity and Inclusion and Title IX Coordinator, Dillon Beckford, director of residence life, Johnathan Harris, a residence hall coordinator and Joe Myers, a community partner from the Crime Victims Center of Chester County.
Through self-improvement workshops, peer education training, leadership development, community engagement and internships, Lincoln’s Women’s Center provides a safe space for women to be themselves and find support while providing educational programs and activities that empower women to become leaders.
Article by Devin Bonner, Office of Communications and Public Relations