FCASV Hosts Leadership Summit

Leadership Summit 2009

More than 50 attendees participated in FCASV's first annual Rape Crisis Program Leadership Summit on June 16th in Orlando. The event brought together executive directors and sexual violence program directors from 27 of Florida's 31 certified rape crisis centers. Michelle Garcia and Rebecca Dreke of the National Stalking Resource Center facilitated the day's activities.

Planning committee members Meg Baldwin of Refuge House, Nancy Cotterman of Broward County Sexual Assault Treatment Center, Donna Fagan of Another Way, Loretta Golden of Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center, Barbara McCormick of Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Kay Tvaroch of Center for Abuse and Rape Emergencies and Shirley Webb of Women's Center of Jacksonville mapped out the goals for the summit and designed the day's activities. The primary goal for the event was to bring certified program leaders together to build their identity as a coalition of organizations all working toward the same ends-to serve victims and ultimately end sexual violence.

The attendees listed and celebrated their individual and joint successes such as bolstering community partnerships through SART development, improving service delivery to clients, and building stronger SANE programs. They also discussed the challenges the anti-sexual violence movement faces in Florida, with funding cuts topping the list. Other challenges raised were having limited staff to serve large numbers of clients, engaging community partners to implement victim-friendly practices, and building relationships with local media outlets.

The rape crisis program leaders resolved to make the summit a yearly event and also to connect with each other regularly in the interim. FCASV staff will use the agency's redesigned website to link the participants through discussion groups and resource sharing. Another innovative idea FCASV will help facilitate is regional open house events at various rape crisis programs. Centers will take turns inviting their peers to visit their centers and share ideas for improving services in these challenging economic times.