Assumption Receives Recognition for Use of VAWA STOP Grant Funds

Assumption University’s Department of Public Safety has been awarded funding from the Massachusetts Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors (STOP) Formula Grant program to help develop and strengthen initiatives for the prevention of and response to incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on campus. 

“We’re so grateful to grantees like Assumption University’s Police Department, who are using grant funds to staff a Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Campus Advocate role, provide SA/DV training to resident assistants and train officers and dispatchers in trauma-informed response and investigations,” the Massachusetts Office of Grants and Research said in its announcement.

Since 2015, Assumption’s Department of Public Safety has partnered with Pathways for Change, Inc., a local organization dedicated to finding solutions to end sexual violence, to provide free and confidential support for those who have been impacted by sexual violence via a Campus Advocate program. Assumption’s Campus Advocate can be reached by survivors for assistance reporting violence, navigating Title IX requirements, and for general support during these difficult situations. The Campus Advocate is available year-round, 24/7, either via the Pathways for Change, Inc. hotline or the office on campus so that services may be provided whenever survivors are in need.

“Domestic violence situations are usually very complex,” said Lieutenant Rebecca Gagne, the senior sexual assault investigator at Assumption University. “Our Campus Advocate program has ensured that domestic violence survivors have access to resource referrals that are responsive to their unique circumstances within a university setting.”