Correction appended.
The Survivor Advocacy Program receives “tons” of requests for programing around Ohio University, program director Kimberly Castor said. But with only two full-time staff members and two graduate assistants, SAP can’t be everywhere it's requested to be.
“Our number one priority as a staff is always going to be the client,” Castor said. “Presentations can wait, workshops can wait. If there’s a client in need, that’s always going to come first.”
The student organization Ambassadors of the Survivor Advocacy Program, also known as ASAP, was created in the spring and helps get the word out about SAP and lends indirect support to survivors.
SAP, which is part of the Division of Student Affairs, provides confidential support to students who are survivors of sexual assault, relationship violence and stalking.
The student group has made more people aware of SAP’s services, Castor said. The organization also assists the program by participating in workshops and resource fairs as SAP employees focus their time on the clients they serve.
“I definitely think people are more aware of what the program is and what the program does than they were in the past,” ASAP President Abbey Knupp said.
Jason Pina, the vice president of Student Affairs, said he loves the fact that SAP is broadening its reach.
“Every month they get more and more work, more and more meetings, more and more requests, because people know that they exist,” Pina said. “Victims and survivors are telling their confidants and their friends about their experiences there, and that starts to spread.”
This year, ASAP plans to work on a social media campaign about how people at OU support sexual assault survivors, and the group has already worked with the Women’s Center for upcoming events, Knupp said.
On Oct. 13, the Monument Quilt will come to Peden Stadium to be displayed, due in part to the work of ASAP and the Women’s Center, Castor said. The Monument Quilt is a monument to rape survivors made up of pieces created by survivors across the country.
OU will be the first campus to show it in full in its football stadium, and it will take up most of the field, she added. Throughout the day while the quilt is on display, there will be speeches by survivors of sexual assault and campus advocates, including Castor and Knupp.
Correction: A previous version of this report misstated the name of the Survivor Advocacy Program. Additionally, a photo in a previous version of this report identified a different group as the Survivor Advocacy Program. The article and the photo have been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
