Colorful Colorado!

The notorious PGV shirt arrived at my doorstep at an (ever to frequent) inflection point in my life. Over the summer, I worked as a community organizer/canvasser for two different organizations. I started working at Food & Water Watch, an environmental organization. I sometimes struggle with environmental work, seeing it as a white middle class issue, but we talked a lot about how environmental work is social justice work. It was inspiring to see the passion of those doing community organizing work! And as a lobbying organization, I learned a lot about politics and grassroots organizing.

A picture from my "office", aka a neighborhood

A picture from my "office", aka a neighborhood in Denver. 

After a couple of months of this work, I was burned out, and unable to make the fundraising standards. For the first time in my life, I was fired from a job. This was definitely a learning experience in and of itself. The following week, one of my friends I met through organizing called me, and said that I should come and work as a community organizer for the Blue Bench, the sexual assault care and prevention center in Denver.

The Blue Bench was founded by a group of politically minded youth activists who saw the need for these services. And the way they knew how to raise money and awareness was community canvassing. We maintain that tradition to this day, knocking on every door in the 9 county area we serve to educate the public about the issue and our services, and collect donations. Having a base of skills from the previous canvassing job, and my background knowledge and experiences with sexual assault, I excelled at this position. 

A few of my co-workers from the Blue Bench.

Canvassing is a weird job to begin with, but canvassing on sexual assault issues is beyond weird. While canvassing, you run into people with all sorts of beliefs. There were two frequent responses that still stand out to me. First: “Isn’t it counterproductive for a rape crisis center to have young women walking around the streets and knocking on people’s doors at night?” So much victim blaming! I probably heard this on average 5 times a night. It really made it obvious to me the amount of victim-blaming still present within our society. Second: “I’m a guy so this doesn’t apply to me” or “I don’t have kids in college so this doesn’t apply to me”. Sexual assault is a community issue. 1 in 4 women and 1 in 17 men in Colorado will experience sexual assault in their lifetime. In Colorado, half of all reported cases are children under the age of 18. People are so uneducated about this issue! Anyways, canvassing was one of the hardest jobs I have ever done, but it was so rewarding to educate the community about this issue!

In mid-October, I got offered another position to help with development for the Rose Andom Center, the family justice center opening in Denver. This agency has been in the works for over 10 years, and they are finally almost finished with their capital campaign and the building! The woman who has been doing the fundraising received a grant for a personal assistant to help with the last push – and that’s me!

The banner on the building currently being renovated. 

A drawing of what the renovated building will look like. 

  

Adjusting to this new position has been difficult, but I am really enjoying it! I get to help finish a $12 million capital campaign, and network with some very influential people in the Denver community. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be involved with this project. 

During all the job changes and struggles, I have found some stability through the Masters of Public Administration Student Association. I am the Vice President of this organization, and we do many fun activities focused on increasing connections between students. I have made the most amazing friends through this organization!

MPA Student Association Members.

As I look forward to graduating in May, I reflect back on the amazing people I have met and the awesome opportunities I have been granted through the MPA program and the Gender-Based Violence concentration!

May the Force be with you!

by: Rachel Bustamante

 

I was very excited to receive the shirt. I thought about what message I wanted to get out to the world. I know, for me personally, education was what changed my life.  So I decided to take pictures of what matters to me. I graduated here in Logan from Utah State University. I'm a proud Aggie. They invested in me so I can invest in others. Largely because i graduated from college, my 15 year old son Michael fully believes he can make it through college as well. This belief gives him a better chance at making his life mean something. His possibilities are endless. So, he agreed to help me document the best here in Logan. 

First we went to the Utah State mascot, the big bull.  The inscription states, "Meet the Challenge," which everyone in the PGV program has done beautifully.  Our challenge is to change the world, one small step a time. We not only have met it, but rather exceeded it, and I believe we will continue to do so.

 

 

Then we took a picture with a statue of USU's star football player, Merlin Olsen.When I was a child, I used to watch him on television in Little House on the Prairie as Mr. Garvey.  He was always one of my favorite actors.  I admired his values, his strong faith in a Higher Power, and his love for his family, and his selfless giving to others. I didn't know I was attending his alma mater until after my first semester. I strive to be a person like that.

We then went and took a picture with a statue of Edith Bowen, an influential Utah educator.  The school at USU that is named after her is a charter school for children.  They are giving these children a chance at unlimited dreams and opportunities.  They also mentor and teach future teachers. 

Next, we took a picture with a statue of a mountain man.  Michael thought it would be a good idea to include men in our PGV project. He stated that men should care about this too.  This statue represents, to me, overcoming hardships and working with what you have rather than wishing for what you don't.

After all this, Michael wanted to help add some fun.  So, since it is the holiday season, we decided Santa Claus should be involved.  He is a worldwide symbol of generosity and caring.  This is something I'd like to see our PGV cohort become as well.  So, it was pet night.  We took our cute little "Wookie/Ewok mix" dog and had a talk with Santa.  We explained what we were doing. He was more than happy to participate and admired the PGV cohort for taking on these issues.  He even said he would wear the shirt if we called and had it approved! For us, it was enough that he cared.

Lastly, I'm a HUGE Star Wars fan.  Geek is the new chic! LOL So I couldn't end my post without making a reference to Star Wars.  I had Darth Vader generously wear my shirt.  After all, this is a classic case of a good guy gone bad who redeemed himself in the end.  This shows that there is always hope.  I believe our PGV cohort is a force to be reckoned with.  So, may the force be with you! 

 

-Rachel Bustamante

WELCOME BACK TO THE PEACH STATE!

by: Nicole Adamo

(Perry. GA)

When I received the amazing Notorious PGV t-shirt, I thought, “What better way to celebrate than to pay homage to my career passion by heading back to where it all started?” So I packed my bags and headed down to Valdosta, GA where I was first employed at the Haven, the local domestic violence shelter, as their Children’s Program Advocate.

Being October and Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Haven was busy with weekly, sometimes daily, awareness events. Of the many things I always enjoyed about being in the shelter (working with the women and children as well as my dedicated co-workers) was the close-knit working relationships the Haven always had with other community agencies and the community itself. The Friday that I arrived in Valdosta, the Haven’s Shelter Manager was speaking to the clinic personnel at Moody Air Force Base. Along with the Shelter Manager was a volunteer and survivor of domestic violence. She bravely shared her story with all those in the room, and addressed the clinic personnel on how they play such a key role in domestic violence prevention and intervention. She asserted that more was needed than just simply reading a statement such as “Do you feel safe in your home?” while staring at a clipboard and waiting for the “yes” in order to check the box. Not that this is always the case, but she stated that medical professionals need make sure they are present and to go further by “asking the right questions.” These clinicians within the Air Force Base clinic, as well as medical personnel everywhere, can learn how to approach these questions better by teaming up with not only the Domestic Abuse Victim Advocate on their military base, but also by doing exactly what Moody AFB did that day, by pairing up with other professionals in the community that specialize in domestic violence.

Left: Me at the Moody Air Force Base & Family Advocacy Center’s Domestic Violence Awareness Event

Right: The Haven’s Shelter Manager, Karen Yawn, standing next to one of the Domestic Violence Silent Witnesses that are found throughout agencies in the 9 counties serviced by the Haven

The following day, Haven advocates were headed to a local church where they were addressing both the congregation and the ministry about domestic violence, red flags of abusive relationships, and where they can turn to if help is needed or if they have questions for others. These working relationships within the community are so important because, despite what some might think, domestic violence is not just a family problem, or a police problem, but is a community-wide problem that is present in every community, not only in the United States, but throughout the world.

Starting the conversation about domestic and/or sexual violence isn’t always easy, but it is necessary. If you are unsure about how to approach the topic with a friend, family member, co-worker, patient, neighbor, or congregation member, there are people available to help walk you through how to be an advocate for someone in need. As stated by the amazing Haven volunteer, “secrets and silence allows domestic violence to thrive.” This is also why it is so important for domestic violence agencies to go out into the community and the schools to help start the conversation.

We can’t all be experts on everything, but by linking up with other experts in the community, we can work together in an effort to better help victims and work towards communities that stand together against domestic and sexual violence.

I also wanted to take the time to send an extra special shout-out to the Haven staff in Valdosta, GA for meeting up with me and sharing all the exciting news that has been going on since I moved in 2010 (such as their beautiful new domestic violence shelter and new rape crisis center). I am so honored to call these dedicated and passionate women not only my allies in this field, but also my friends.

-Nicole Adamo