Addictions and Community Services Worker grad uses skills taught in program to help women in need
Surrey, BC – May 7, 2013 – May is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the Surrey Women’s Centre has just launched the iWill campaign in an effort to educate and empower youth, while supporting them through situations of violence and sexual assault.
Throughout the month of May, the Surrey Women’s Centre wants to see as many people visit their site, i-will.ca as possible. Every person who takes the iWill quiz until May 31, 2013 will be entered to win an iPad.
“The iWill campaign is geared towards young women who are the population at greatest risk of sexual assault,” says Nafisha Patel, Women’s Resource Centre Coordinator and Vancouver Career College grad. “Girls 13-18 are more likely to be sexually assaulted than any other age group, with 1 in 2 women experiencing some form of sexual violence before the age of 18.”
As a graduate of the Addictions and Community Services Worker program at Vancouver Career College, Nafisha now uses the skills she learned in school to support women of all ages who have experienced sexual or domestic violence.
In addition to the iWill campaign, the Surrey Women’s Centre is also home to the only 24-hour, 365 day a year service for sexual assault victims in Canada. The Surrey Mobile Assault Response Team (SMART) helps women access life-saving medical treatment, file police reports, and to find a safe place to stay. SMART has successfully allowed the Surrey Women’s Centre to provide 55% more hospital referrals, decreasing the response time to 45 minutes.
Help the Surrey Women’s Centre in their goal to increase awareness about this important topic by taking the quiz at i-will.ca. If you or someone you know needs help call 604.583.1295 or visit surreywomencentre.ca
For more information on the Addictions and Community Services Worker program at Vancouver Career College, fill out the form to your right.