MECASA LBGTQ+ Advisory Board Efforts MECASA staff coordinated the Safe Space for Sexual Assault Support Centers training for all of Maine’s sexual assault support centers, provided by MECASA LBGTQ+ Advisory Board members. The Advisory Board also worked on a Pride campaign that included stickers and social media shareable content with the messages #consentforME and #PrideforME. Sexual assault support centers engaged in outreach at every local Pride festival this year, and MECASA staff supported their efforts in a variety of ways. The group finalized a screening for LGBTQ+ identified survivors of sexual violence to find a knowledgeable and affirming primary care provider. MECASA Provider Support This year we held our first annual statewide sexual violence conference. Over 80 providers and community partners were joined by guest speakers Laura van Dernoot Lipsky (Founder of The Trauma Stewardship Institute) and Shay Stewart-Bouley (Executive Director at Community Change, Inc. and Blogger of Black Girl in Maine). The conference included innovative presentations on vicarious trauma, sexual violence prevention, and the importance of intersectionality in the anti-violence movement. Participants noted: “It was a wonderful and enriching experience” and “This conference was a real gift to people who do very hard work every day.” To the right is an image from the conference: a display of the Bristlecone Project, a portrait-based project featuring photos and biographies of male survivors. We established a statewide database, which allows for better collection, analysis, and reporting of statewide client and education services. This included the launch of statewide prevention evaluation, and together with existing statewide intervention evaluation, informs funding and program planning. To support providers in this transition, we provided significant onsite and remote technical assistance and developed an extensive database manual. MECASA FY2016 Annual Report 6
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