In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the WellCat Safe Place hosted a resource fair on Thursday afternoon to give students and others the opportunity to connect with available resources.
The event took place at Selvester’s Cafe where students were met with tables that held informational flyers along with small items like stickers, candies, stress balls, sunglasses and pins. Each table had an advocate who spoke about their respective resource hub.
An advocate for the WellCat Safe Place, Cass Hernandez, described the purpose of the resource fair.
“We want to build healthy relationships with students so they can feel supported,” Hernandez said.
She has worked at the Safe Place for a year and a half and has a passion for advocacy. Every year during DVAM, they try to host at least one resource fair to get the word out to students.
Here are the resources that were present at the event and what services they provide:
WellCat Safe Place provides confidential intervention and prevention services to support individuals who may have experienced harm. Its mission is to serve the community and offer advocacy support for students, faculty and staff impacted by sexual assault or harassment.
Physical, mental and emotional services are available at the WellCat Health Center to support the health and well-being of students. These include vaccinations, routine lab testing, sexual health education, sports medicine and reproductive health. Its pharmacy consists of affordable over-the-counter products most convenient for students’ needs.
Licensed vocational nurse Laura Ibarra discussed how the center gets the word out to keep students aware of their services.
“We realized social media is the best way to reach out to students so we try to be really active,” Ibarra said.
Their Instagram page contains updates on upcoming events and consistent posts about their services.
The Pantry includes a wide variety of nutritious, shelf-stable food products for students and staff who face food insecurity. They specialize in distributing local, organic produce and foods. Other available items include toothbrushes, tampons, soap and kitchenware.
Butte County Behavioral Health
Butte County Behavioral Health provides adult and youth mental health treatment as well as substance use disorder treatment. They have expanded their crisis services program to enhance a 24/7 mobile response model, as mentioned on their website. They have a Butte County Sobering Center available in Chico that offers a safe environment for individuals to recover from the effects of alcohol or other drugs. The center operates 24/7 and stays range from four to just under 24 hours.
Calfresh is a program that offers monthly financial assistance for college students’ grocery expenses. Its benefits come on an EBT card and can be used to purchase food at grocery stores, farmer’s markets and on campus.
Equal Opportunity and Dispute Resolution
Title IX handles the prevention of sex discrimination based on the CSU’s Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Exploitation, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, Stalking and Retalitaion. Its primary goal is helping and providing the proper resources for individuals who have experienced harm.
Campus Assessment Response Evaluation (CARE) Team
The purpose of the CARE team is to respond to campus community concerns. Their responsibilities include receiving information about concerns regarding student behavior and defining a plan to de-escalate the crisis. The team works collaboratively as a support system for student success while prioritizing community safety.
Plenty of students stopped by to check out the fair, including Chico State transfer student Nika Cano.
“I wanted to see resources that are provided regarding mental health,” Cano said. She also stated that she goes to The Well quite often to prioritize her mental health.
The WellCat Safe Place will also be hosting two gentle yoga sessions at The Well this month.
- Oct. 15 from 9-9:30 a.m.
- Oct. 28 from 2-2:30 p.m.
Rebecca Gonzalez can be reached at [email protected]
