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Welcoming New Staff!

Please join NYSCASA in welcoming three new staff members to our team!

Articia S. Hill, Grants Compliance Director

She/her/hers

[email protected]

What are you most looking forward to as you join NYSCASA?

"I am looking forward to bridging the gap between the population we serve and maintain compliance that aligns with our organization’s mission, goals, and values. I am excited to be a part and learn from a team that is nationally making moves to End World Violence!"

Alissa Abbott, Campus Projects Director

She/her/hers

[email protected]

What are you most looking forward to as you join NYSCASA?

"I am most excited to finally have my life passion and work align; to support students and campus personnel in understanding the impacts of sexual violence on campus; and to collaborate with our partners in eradicating sexual violence in our communities. As an MSW, I am excited to use my skills and build relationships with our campuses in NYS!"

Angie Ritorto, Technical Assistance Director

She/her/hers

[email protected]

What are you most looking forward to as you join NYSCASA?

"I am most excited about working for an agency that seeks to be inclusive and diverse in both staff and within their programs. I look forward to developing a strong allyship with the Rape Crisis Centers to help survivors across New York State in the best ways possible!"

Seeking Candidates for NYSCASA Board of Directors

NYSCASA is seeking candidates for its Board of Directors, including one or two representatives from member rape crisis programs.We are interested in candidates from all regions of New York State.

For more information, visit www.nyscasa.org/get-involved.

To apply, please contact Sam Mitchell at [email protected] or 518-482-4222 extension 311.

A World of Heart Balloons: Books to Benefit NYSCASA

Sexual Assault is a tough topic to cover for children. By creating a different perspective of the world and how we view people, we can explain feelings.

A new book, A World of Heart Balloons, was made to create a mutual understanding of situational emotions, perseverance, and triumph. 50% of all profits will go to NYSCASA to help support our work! Click to order.

For a complete list of upcoming events, check out NYSCASA's calendar!

March 26: PREA Info/Recruitment Session (Albany, NY)

NYSCASA is proud to announce a one (1) day informational event about the New York State PREA Partnership's efforts to support incarcerated survivors. This outlines the opportunity for community-based service providers to join these efforts with support from NYSCASA's pass-through grant from the Office of Victim Services (OVS). This session is open to NYSCASA member rape crisis programs and will be capped.

For more information and to register, visit https://nyscasa.coalitionmanager.org/eventmanager/TrainingEvent/Details/8.

If you have questions/concerns, please contact E Bjorkman at [email protected].

Webinar Series: Ending Violence Without Violence

NYSCASA is pleased to announce our new webinar series, Ending Violence Without Violence, which will serve as lead-up programming for our conference of the same name (see below). The series will introduce participants to the core principles of Restorative Justice, Transformative Justice, Community Accountability, and other community-centered approaches to violence prevention and response.

Participants will develop a shared analysis of interpersonal violence—specifically sexual violence—and a shared understanding of the importance of community-based approaches to sexual violence prevention and intervention. The webinar series will underscore the importance of building communities that can prevent sexual violence, respond to harm, and heal trauma. 

Stay tuned for announcements about upcoming webinars!

Past webinars:

June 3-6: Ending Violence Without Violence Conference

NYSCASA is thrilled to announce that we are co-creating a conference to be held in 2020 with Seven Dancers Coalition, the Indigenous anti-violence coalition in New York State and Haudenosaunee Country, and Interrupting Criminalization: Research in Action, a new project led by Mariame Kaba and Andrea Ritchie at the Barnard Center for Research on Women.

The 2020 Sexual Assault Prevention and Intervention Conference will be held in Syracuse, NY, on June 3-6, 2020.

We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for Ending Violence Without Violence! Check out the preliminary program and learn how to register here: www.EndViolence2020.com

Sign up to receive updates about the 2020 conference here: bit.ly/NYSCASA2020

Upcoming Non-NYSCASA Events

Recommended Resources

Books to Support Healing from Sexual Violence

Healing Honestly recently put together a list of books to support survivors’ healing from sexual violence. NYSCASA has sent some of these books to member rape crisis programs, including Love WITH Accountability: Digging Up the Roots of Child Sexual Abuse, Queering Sexual Violence: Radical Voices from Within the Anti-Violence Movement, and Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Check out the full book list here.

Building Accountable Communities: A Video Series

In this series of four short videos, anti-violence activists Kiyomi Fujikawa and Shannon Perez-Darby ask and explore: What does it look like to be accountable to survivors without exiling or disposing those who do harm? Learn more and watch the series here .

The Case for Sticking with Bail Reform

Insha Rahman (Vera Institute of Justice) and Emily Bazelon (The New York Times Magazine) recently penned an op-ed highlighting the successes of bail reform and arguing that New York should stick with bail reform. Read more.

For an in-depth look at New York’s bail reform law, visit the Center for Court Innovation’s website. For analysis of how bail reform may impact survivors of domestic violence and intimate partner violence, read more here.

Individual and Collective Accountability in a Restorative Framework

What does individual accountability look like in a restorative framework? What about collective accountability? You can listen to the recordings of past webinars from  Restorative Justice on The Rise such as this one, featuring Kay Pranis, for free. 

Your support helps NYSCASA improve response to sexual assault survivors and strengthen prevention efforts across New York State.