Wayne State College will provide students and community members with another opportunity to expand their knowledge and open their minds about the world we live in with this month’s Idea Thursday event, Domestic Violence: From Hidden to Healing.
The event will be 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13 in Gardner Auditorium of Gardner Hall. Food and beverages will be provided at 6 p.m. with the speakers and discussion launching at 6:30 p.m.
Initially started by WSC alumnus Peter Mutayoba, Idea Thursdays are making a comeback. This collaborative event is designed to create conversations and inspire ideas among students, faculty, and community members by bringing in speakers from various backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. This month, the event organizers will also reach out to bilingual and Spanish-speaking members of the community by translating written materials in Spanish.
This month, Rachel Kunz, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Wayne State, will bring her experiences as a former Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) in the Children’s Justice Clinic, to shed light on hidden violence in homes, as well as advise on how to navigate children through the difficulties that follow. Connie Reyes, who serves as the domestic violence/sexual assault supervisor at Haven House in Wayne, will emphasize how we all have the capability to be advocates.
Joseph Littlegeorge, Jayme M. Moore, and Felicia Masquat also will discuss their work addressing domestic violence and sexual abuse in Winnebago. Their combined experience and wisdom includes working in the Domestic Violence Program, Police Department, and Health Services, as well as having personal experience as survivors of domestic violence and abuse. They will tell their stories of cultural healing, focusing on moving from hidden survivors to healing advocates.
Lori Steffen, director of the WSC Coordinated Campus Response Team, will provide resources and information about the WSC Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Project. By hearing from survivors and advocates from diverse backgrounds, the college hopes to bring people together with the common purpose of ending the silence on domestic violence by initiating conversation as the first step to action.
The event is co-sponsored by Wayne State Service-learning and the Ideas and Conversations community team.
For more information contact Dr. Barbara Engebretsen at baengeb1@wsc.edu
