Campus News

UB's got your back.

‘UB’s Got Your Back’ helping victims of sexual and domestic violence

By SUE WUETCHER

Published September 22, 2016 This content is archived.

Print
“October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and UB is committed to helping and supporting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in our community. ”
Sharon Nolan-Weiss, director
Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

They often come for help with very little other than the clothes they are wearing.

These men, women and children seeking help from rape crisis and domestic violence shelters frequently meet with Crisis Services of Erie County advocates at the hospital. Many times their clothing is taken as evidence.

Kesha Lanier, associate director of UB’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, recalls a conversation with one such advocate who told Lanier she once had met a client at a hospital whose shoes had been taken. “So she gave her a pair of her shoes,” Lanier says.

In an effort to help these victims, UB is joining Crisis Services in preparing 300 comfort bags containing personal care items and clothing for those who seek medical attention in Erie County hospitals. The 300 bags are expected to meet these needs for a year.

The “UB’s Got Your Back” campaign is part of “SUNY’s Got Your Back,” a yearlong, system-wide project to collect comfort kits for victims and survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence who come to shelters and centers across New York State.

“October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and UB is committed to helping and supporting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in our community,” says Sharon Nolan-Weiss, director of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

UB faculty, staff and students can support “UB’s Got Your Back” by donating new, personal care items now through Oct. 14 at locations across campus. Lists of items and donations sites can be found on the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion website.

Monetary donations, which go directly to Crisis Services, also are accepted.

UB volunteers will fill the comfort bags and present them to Crisis Services on Oct. 19 as part of UB’s annual Walk with Me and Take Back the Night activities.

During the Walk with Me event, being held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Student Union Lobby, North Campus, organizers will hand out purple bandanas — the official color of Domestic Violence Awareness Month — and ask recipients to wear them as a sign of support to those affected by domestic violence and to take a stand against dating violence at UB.

Participants also are asked to paint hand prints on the windows of the Student Union as another show of support.

Take Back the Night is UB’s annual march and rally in support of survivors of partner violence and sexual assault. The event includes music, dance, speak-outs and a presentation from a keynote speaker. This year’s speaker is Katie Koestner, founder and executive director of the Take Back the Night Foundation and president of Campus Outreach Services, a national organization dedicated to developing research-supported curricula, policies and educational programs for schools on student risk issues.

Lanier, co-organizer of “UB’s Got Your Back,” says that in addition to donations, the campaign needs volunteers to sort donated items from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 18 (location to be announced) and to help with setup, cleanup and assembling the comfort bags from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 19 in the Student Union Flag Room.

Those interested in volunteering can sign up online.