NORWICH – Catholic Charities of Chenango’s Crime Victims Program has partnered with Morrisville State College’s Norwich Campus in an effort to provide crisis and short-term counseling for students and faculty who’ve suffered from domestic or sexual abuse.
According to a National Crime Victims survey, 20 to 25 percent of all women in their college years experience an attempted or completed sexual assault, and the primary way to combat this is through education, said Catholic Charities Rape Crisis Coordinator and Community Educator Beth Neuland.
“It’s important for students to feel safe on campus,” stated Neuland. “We’re offering short term counseling and crisis intervention in an attempt to prevent sexual violence and raise awareness.”
Although the Norwich Campus belies the norm for most colleges, as it has no dorms and has a large adult student population, Director of Crime Victims Program Dan Auwarter said he believes the program to be just as important as it would be in a traditional collegiate setting, if not more so.
“Because the Norwich Campus is such a rural college, there are a lot of students traveling to and from outlying communities throughout the county,” said Auwarter. “Educating the entire student population, regardless of age, allows us to get the message out there and help prevent sexual assault.”
Auwarter added that he’s “very pleased with our relationship with the Norwich Campus” and hopes that the partnership will “continue to grow and strengthen.”
Crisis and short-term counseling will be provided twice a month in the second floor administrative offices of the Norwich Campus, located at 20 Conkey Avenue. The next scheduled session will take place on Feb. 25, from 2 to 5:30 p.m.
For more information contact the Crime Victims Program at 334-3532, or its emergency hotline at 336-1101.