Shasta College receives grant to expand campus advocacy
Oct. 21—REDDING — Shasta College will receive $549,133 to expand its successful Campus Advocacy, Resources and Education for Safety (CARES) program to Simpson University.
As part of this new grant, Shasta College will share best practices, coordinate efforts and training, and leverage resources with Simpson University to reduce the incidences of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on Redding college campuses.
CARES will help create policies and procedures, form a joint Coordinated Community Response Team (CCRT), in partnership with local law enforcement and community agencies and implement new prevention and intervention strategies. Off-campus survivor services will continue to be provided by One Safe Place. Local law enforcement partners, Redding Police Department and the Redding City Attorney's Office will participate in the CCRT, Sexual Assault Response Team, and public awareness campaigns; and provide training and coordination with Campus Safety Departments and disciplinary boards.
"Simpson University is honored to work in consortium with Shasta College on the Office on Violence Against Women Grant. We consider Shasta College to be a first-class school and look forward to working hand in hand to better the Redding Community. We take pride in our community and instill this morale in our students, and this grant opens another door to help others while improving the community," Dr. Norm Hall, Simpson University president, said.
Shasta CARES is a partnership with One Safe Place, Redding Police Department, Shasta College Campus Safety, and Student Services. Each team works together to create a trauma-informed response and develop culturally competent violence prevention programs. The CCRT on the Tehama Campus is comprised of members from Extended Education, Campus Safety, Rape Crisis Intervention and Prevention, Empower Tehama (formerly Alternatives to Violence), Red Bluff Police Department and Tehama County Sheriff.
Shasta CARES provides primary prevention programming and events to educate the campus on the realities of sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. In addition, the events and workshops promote healthy behaviors, equity, safety, and accountability.
Shasta College Campus Safety Chief Lonnie Seay enthusiastically supports this expansion of the Shasta CARES program.
"Establishing and maintaining a safe and welcoming environment for all of our students is one of our top priorities. Being able to take the great work of the Shasta CARES program and carry it forward to our partner college down the road, Simpson University, will make huge strides in advancing community awareness of and reducing the incidence of domestic violence on and off our campuses," Seay added. "I'm encouraged that these efforts continue to receive the support they need to ensure the safety and inclusivity for all our students."
The federal Grants to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus Program awarded 16.2 million dollars in grants across 52 higher education institutes across the nation in 2020. The U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, funds institutions of higher education to develop coordinated community responses, such as Shasta CARES. These campus-wide programs address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campuses by implementing prevention strategies, enhancing survivor's safety, providing services and support for survivors, and supporting efforts to hold offenders accountable.
For additional information about the Shasta CARES program, please contact Jessie Ballard at (530) 242-7917.
