Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler ,
(818) 677-2130
carmen.chandler@csun.edu

Valley Trauma Center Plans Activities
for Sexual Assault Awareness Month

"Sexual assault impacts so many people in our community and it's important to be aware that this isn't something that just affects other people, but people that we care about," said Dove Poock, prevention education coordinator for the center.

In addition to participating in several health and information fairs throughout the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, the center also is collaborating in the following events:

• The Rainbow Sisters Project is hosting "You are Not Alone: A Day Honoring Women Who Have Survived Rape and Those Who Have Given Them Voice" on Saturday, April 17, at the Los Angeles Central Library.

• The City of San Fernando will be issuing a proclamation declaring April Sexual Assault Awareness Month at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 19. The City of Burbank also is issuing a proclamation at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 20.

• Tuesday, April 20, is the California "Jeans Day", when people across the state will be wearing jeans to protest the recent Italian court decision to overturn a rape conviction because the survivor was wearing jeans.

The center also is assisting several Cal State Northridge student groups in posting informational flyers around the campus to encourage sexual assault survivors to seek help.

The Valley Trauma Center offers comprehensive assistance to survivors of sexual assault and their families in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. Its 24-hour hotline is staffed by volunteer certified rape crisis advocates who provide confidential information and crisis counseling over the telephone. Rape crisis advocates also meet survivors at hospitals, police stations and courts to provide free on-site emotional support and information.

Anyone needing services or information can call the center's 24-hour hotline at (805) 253-0258 or (818) 886-0453.

The Valley Trauma Center is a non-profit organization funded in part by a grant from the California State Office of Criminal Justice Planning. Cal State Northridge's Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling has sponsored the center since 1984.

Cal State Northridge has about 27,000 full- and part-time students, offering 48 different bachelor's and master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is celebrating its 40th anniversary and is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley.