Three weeks before her graduation from the University of Virginia. One Love works to teach young people the signs of unhealthy and abusive relationships and to take action to spread awareness. The second part, Behind the Post, helps us to understand how social media has a direct impact on our relationships and how we perceive them. I would have Mindful Heart put on programs for Domestic Violence Awareness Month during the month of October. I would like for us to partner with battered women’s and men’s shelters to have a small group forum where members of the group and others to participate, and hear the stories of these strong women and men.
I would also like to have a campus wide initiative where we all come together and write letters to send to the different shelters.
Members of the group will visit the shelters and create kits for the women and men as well as have fundraisers to be able to donate the money to them as well as places that provide resources such as Restore.
This would show survivors that they have love and support from Nazareth College but also give our institution the outlet to express positive wishes upon them. During this month, members can facilitate many of the One Love and Behind the Post trainings. This could also be an opportunity for us to reach out to the National Coalition against Domestic Violence (NCADV) for a toolkit to help with programming and social media outreach for them.
The members of the group would be in charge of spearheading the planning for the Take Back the Night event and would go to Karen for guidance and financial support.
This would hopefully inspire more students to tell their story as well as make people who were accused of the sexual misconduct more comfortable to participate to either tell their story or rethink their behaviors. The members of A Mindful Heart will help with the other public awareness projects such as the Clothesline project, candlelight vigils, protests, survivor “speak outs”, and other forums. Since 1949, May has been observed as Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States. This awareness month was started by Mental Health America and each year in mid-March Mental Health America releases a toolkit of materials to guide preparation for outreach activities during this time. Our group will look into getting one of these toolkits to be able to create programming that goes with their theme for the year. This past May, the theme was Fitness and how we can be fit for our future regardless of what we are going through personally and health wise .
On April 1, 2001 the United States observed the first Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). Since then, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) promotes national unity for these SAAM activities and encourages participation and feedback from across the nation. The theme for 2017 was Engaging New Voices. The focus was on involving coaches, faith leaders, parents, Greek Life, and bystanders with preventing sexual assault. The theme for April 2019 is “I Ask”. This theme is about empowering others to put asking for consent into practice and champion the power of asking. This year I would like for our institution to sign up for a SAAM action kit and the members from A Mindful Heart would put on events from the month to raise awareness on our campus. The SAAM Action Kit has the resources that you need to get our campus engaged in raising awareness about preventing sexual assault and harassment. The kit includes sample resources, a campaign sticker, an event planning guide, social media toolkit, poster, and merchandise overview and is available as either a printed or online version.
Erik Erikson’s theory of development is one representation of how the effects of sexual assault, discrimination, and misconduct can have a negative impact on the lives, development, adjustment of students to college and overall mental health. When I was first adjusting to college, I was battling anxiety panic attack disorder. It not only affected the way that I interacted with others but also my motivation when it came to attending events and networking. It was with the help of the functional areas such as Student Activities and Leadership and the Health and Wellness center that I regained control of who I was and was able to make my experience at Nazareth College meaningful. Similar to Student Activities for me, I believe Title IX along with the health and counseling could help students who experience these potentially traumatic events combat mental illnesses. Support is key to getting through these hardships in our lives and I think that with supportive groups like A Mindful Heart that students can find a sense of belonging, make strides regarding their mental health, and find their true sense of self.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month. (2022, Nov 15). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/domestic-violence-awareness-month/