Healthy relationships: Events in Centre County honor April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Jennifer Pencek
·4 min read
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With April serving as national Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), Centre Safe and community partners are joining forces to spread education and prevention efforts across the region.

Centre Safe, formerly the Centre County Women’s Resource Center, has supported victims/survivors of sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, and stalking across Centre County since 1975. Centre Safe provides free, professional and confidential services like emergency shelter/housing, counseling, advocacy, outreach, education, legal support, and supervised visitation and safe custody exchanges through its Child Access Center.

This year marks the 23rd anniversary of SAAM, with the theme this year being “Building Connected Communities,” a campaign that aims to helps us reduce the likelihood of sexual abuse, assault and harassment in our communities.

Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. Every nine minutes, that victim is a child. Meanwhile, only 25 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison.

We oftentimes imagine living in a bubble, but there is a lot of trauma that happens within that bubble. Sexual assault is a devastating abuse of power — one that affects people of every identity. We all hold the responsibility to combat sexual assault, spread awareness, and act. We must work toward a society that upholds every person’s right to live free from sexual violence — where our institutions and communities commit to preventing sexual assault, supporting survivors, and holding offenders accountable.

SAAM events include:

Smarter Parents Safer Kids Workshop

6-8 p.m. April 1, Moshannon Valley YMCA (113 N. 14th St., Philipsburg)

Centre Safe and Youth Service Bureau present a workshop for parents and caregivers to prevent child sexual abuse. Register at: ccysb.com/project-safe-and-smart

SAAM Proclamation

10 a.m. April 2, Willowbank Building (420 Holmes St., Bellefonte)

Centre County Commissioners will formally recognize April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Honoring Survival: Transforming the Spirit

4:30 p.m., April 4, Memorial Lounge, Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, Penn State campus

Join the Gender Equity Center and Centre Safe to honor the strength and resiliency of survivors through poetry, storytelling, music and art.

Take Back the Night

6 p.m. April 4, Old Main steps, Penn State campus

Lambda Theta Alpha hosts the annual Take Back the Night event on campus to spread awareness about sexual assault. Co-sponsored by Centre Safe and the Gender Equity Center

Smarter Parents Safer Kids Workshop

6-8 p.m. April 11, Penns Valley YMCA (115 Streamside Place, Spring Mills)

Centre Safe and Youth Service Bureau present a workshop for parents and caregivers to prevent child sexual abuse. Register at: ccysb.com/project-safe-and-smart

Smarter Parents Safer Kids Workshop

6-8 p.m. April 17, Bellefonte YMCA (125 W. High St., Bellefonte)

Centre Safe and Youth Service Bureau present a workshop for parents and caregivers to prevent child sexual abuse. Register at: ccysb.com/project-safe-and-smart

CenClear Child Abuse Prevention Carnival

10 a.m. April 20, Matternville CenClear (3638 N. Atherton St., Port Matilda)

Families can spend quality time together while also discovering information about the wealth of resources available in the community. Centre Safe will be tabling at the event, which is sponsored by Matternville CenClear.

YMCA Healthy Kids Day

1-4 p.m. April 20, State College YMCA (677 W. Whitehall Road, State College)

Come and inspire children and families to keep their minds and bodies active throughout the summer months and beyond. Centre Safe will be tabling at the event.

Smarter Parents Safer Kids Workshop

6-8 p.m. April 24, State College YMCA

Centre Safe and Youth Service Bureau present a workshop for parents and caregivers to prevent child sexual abuse. Register at: ccysb.com/project-safe-and-smart

Denim Day

all day, April 24

Wear denim and make the statement that there is no excuse for sexual violence. Visit denimdayinfo.org and share your photos @CentreSafe.

CenClear Child Abuse Prevention Carnival

10 a.m. April 27, Philipsburg CenClear (1633 Philipsburg Bigler Highway, Philipsburg)

Families can spend quality time together while also discovering information about the wealth of resources available in the community. Centre Safe will be tabling at the event, which is sponsored by Philipsburg CenClear.

Jennifer Pencek is the executive director of Centre Safe. For more information on Centre Safe, please contact me at 814-238-7066 or jpencek@centresafe.org . Learn more at www.centresafe.org/saam.