NEWBERRY — Members of the community gathered in conversation Thursday night to learn more about how Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands is ending sexual violence in the community.
The group held the discussion at Piedmont Technical College in Newberry.
Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands has been around for 35 years, serving Newberry County for almost 20 of those years, according to Mary Dell Hayes, director of development for the group. While there haven’t been many events held in Newberry until this point, Hayes said they had the help of wonderful community members to put Thursday’s event together.
Thursday’s discussion was hosted by community members Buffy Summer, Sue Summer and Sara Wessinger.
“It was just an opportunity to drop in, enjoy a bite to eat and learn more about what is happening in Newberry,” Hayes said.
Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands has two arms, Hayes said. On one end, the 501(c)3 organization has services for survivors including a 24-hour hotline as well as hospital accompaniment for advocates to meet survivors at the hospital. Hayes said there were also individual and group counseling programs for survivors — all at no cost to the individual.
All of this is possible through various funding sources, Hayes said, most of them coming from cooperations in the communities the group serves and individual donations. These donations are tax deductible.
Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands is also supported by grants from victims of crime acts. Hayes said money is also collected as fines and fees from criminals and is directed specifically toward victim services.
The second arm of the organization are their education programs, Hayes said.
“We believe that this (sexual abuse) is not something that has to continue,” Hayes said.
Abuse such as this is something Hayes said should cannot just be talked about at home, but must also be shared in the community and school systems.
A youth violence curriculum of six weeks, Hayes said is something they feel strongly should be implemented at both the middle and high school level. The training is endorsed by the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and evaluated by the University of South Carolina to be effective, Hayes said.
The curriculum dives into discussions on healthy friendships as well as dating relationships and the importance of communication skills and setting healthy boundaries between yourself and others whether it be with friendships or dating.
“It teaches them that we’re a community that doesn’t tolerate violence,” Hayes said. “It can also be implemented for church groups.”
While the Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands’ office is in the department of mental health, Hayes said they can go anywhere to do the education programs.
“We can work with churches on policies,” Hayes said. “It’s really important in any group that works with vulnerable children or people.”
Hayes said schools, groups and organizations have to be able to protect those that are vulnerable, as those are the ones that predators prey on.
Another important thing to keep in mind Hayes said is that 80 percent of the time an assault occurs, it is done by someone the victim knows which is why she said figuring out how to have these conversations was so urgent.
Amanda Finley, assistant principal at Newberry High School said she attended the discussion last week because of their work with young adults.
“They reached out to us at registration this year to get involved,” Finley said. “I knew they had services to offer schools so I wanted to see what was available.”
Similar to Finley, Barbara Chapman, director of the Newberry County Literacy Council said because of their daily work and involvement with children, she wanted to be able to gain information to share with parents.
Amanda Alston is currently an AmeriCorps VISTA staff member at the Muller Center at Newberry College. Alston obtained her Bachelor’s degree in social work and said she also considered herself an advocate for these issues.
“I figured it would be a good opportunity to reach out to others in the community and volunteer,” Alston said.
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