CARE

1. CARE “Weaving the Fabric of a Non-Violent University"

2. CARE 601 S. College RoadSecond Floor, Westside HallWilmington, NC 28403-5939910-962-CARE

3. STAFF • Rebecca Caldwell Director of Substance Abuse & Violence Prevention caldwellr@uncw.edu • Dee Casey Assistant Director of Violence Prevention caseyd@uncw.edu

4. Mission • The UNCW Collaboration for Assault Response and Education is the campus initiative dedicated to intervening on a broad spectrum of violent behaviors, including sexual assault, relationship abuse, stalking and harassment.

5. History • CARE was created by the Division of Student Affairs August, 2005 and was staffed by Dee Casey and Rebecca Caldwell throughout that academic year.  • In July 2005, Dee Casey was hired full-time as Assistant Director for Violence Prevention, while Rebecca added Violence Prevention to her directorship of Substance Abuse Prevention services.  Before the office was created, issues of violence prevention were addressed primarily in the Office of the Dean of Students, and were supported by programming efforts in the Counseling Center, Crossroads, Residence Life, University Police and the Women’s Resource Center

6. History • The university was very open to the creation of CARE as a response to the concern developed after the murders in 2004 of 2 UNCW students.  • Relationship violence in the form of acquaintance stalking and relationship abuse (verbal/emotional) were precipitants of the murders, although neither murderer had ever been physically or sexual violent with the victims before murdering them. 

7. What does CARE provide? • Violence intervention programs, trainings, and educational campaigns to the UNCW campus. • Response to students who have been victimized by providing supportive services, including crisis response, individual advocacy and coordination with both on-campus and off-campus resources.  • Consultation to students, faculty and staff who are affected by their own or another's experience with abuse or assault.

8. What does CARE do? • Collaboration with on- and off-campus constituents who are also involved in raising awareness of, intervening on and expertly responding to these issues. • Work to reduce overt and covert expressions of violence within the campus community. • Promote the maintenance and continuing development of a campus environment characterized by support and respect.

9. Population Served • Serves the entire student community as well as all UNCW faculty and staff in regards to issues of sexual assault, relationship abuse & violence, stalking, and harassment.

10. Money, money, money! • 2006 Grant from Department of Education “Weaving the Fabric of a Non-Violent University” • Funded through NC state funds and a 260,000 2-year grant from the US Dept. of Education for special programs regarding violence prevention, emphasizing relationship violence (New positions: Men’s Coordinator and Evaluation Consultant). • UNCW also funds an administrative assistant and several paid peer educators, as well as part of a graduate assistant position.

11. Weaving the Fabric • Grant’s three components are: • Create a comprehensive campus violence prevention model; • Generate a coordinated series of programs and services to address relationship violence; and • Develop a model relationship violence protocol, environmental scanning tool for campus violence, and campus violence survey

12. What did I do? • Activities focused on event and program planning as well as minimal clerical tasks.