As a part of Domestic Abuse Awareness month, Rio Hondo hosted a Resource Fair for several organizations that assist victims of Domestic Abuse in the Mid Quad, April 18 and 19.

This event was also used to spotlight Rio Hondo’s own VIP (Violence Intervention Program), an organization on campus that assists students suffering from domestic abuse, by providing material and resources for organizations off-campus for further assistance.

VIP was founded last summer with the assistance of Shaina Phillips, Director of Student Life and Leadership. Several student advocates received off-campus training, becoming state certified confidential advocates.

Booth host and VIP advocate, Ruth Hernandez, spoke to students about the importance of making the information of Domestic Abuse Awareness accessible, and the promoted the young organization.

“[We connect students] with other non-profit organizations… and if [we] have the actual resource, we can go ahead and give to [the student],” Hernandez said. “Potentially, in the future, this program is going to get bigger. Hopefully by then our students are well aware that [they] do have support from our campus, that we do care, and if they are survivors of sexual assault, of violence, we’re here to support them.”

One of those non-profit organizations is Project Sister Family Services, a non-profit organization that serves 26 cities and also assists victims of domestic abuse, and a collaborator with VIP, providing training for all current VIP advocates.

Project Sister booth host Tyler Gutierrez explained that the organization, in addition to providing advocate training, provides a hotline for women suffering from domestic abuse and outreach services and events.

“We do a 41-hour training every quarter basically, and we train our advocates on how to go out to forensics exams, like the rape kit exams. [We teach survivors] how to go out to court cases and police departments. When our survivors testify against their perpetrators, we’re there for emotional and moral support,” Gutierrez explained. “And we’re confidential and privileged, which means we can’t be subpoenaed by a judge or anything like that.”

The next quarter of training begins July 7. Students interested in becoming campus advocates can contact VIP for further details.

Hernandez also noted that while VIP is still in it’s prime, the current advocates will not be able to continue its progression. VIP is currently looking for more student advocates to grow the program and keep momentum for the campus resource.

“We’re going to pass it on the next set of advocates who are going to take it on and make it a bigger and more successful program,” Hernandez explained.

One student interested by the proposition was Rocio Villarreal, a psychology major with interest in assisting domestic abuse victims.

“I have a big interest in humanities and helping people. So I saw [VIP’s booth] and thought this would be a good way to help people,”  “I think it opens up the issue a whole lot more in general. A lot of people are kind of hush-hush about certain things, you know, especially when it comes to abuse and sex.”

VIP will host a self-defense class April 26. Students can support the program by buying buttons in the Student Union and attending The Vagina Monologues May 4. All proceeds of the play will go to the program.