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Established in July 2013, the Center for Sexual and Relationship Violence Support Services (SRVSS) serves as an advocacy resource for students who experience sexual or relationship violence and the primary education resource for the university. When founded, it was an office within the 5X���� Women’s Center and part of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. SRVSS was staffed by one full-time staff member who did support advocacy, prevention education, awareness initiatives and office management. During SRVSS first year, 24 students received support through advocacy. One of the first goals of SRVSS was to implement Green Dot, a bystander movement, for the Kent State community. Green Dot is a national program that originated at the University of Kentucky as a primary prevention strategy. SRVSS collaborated with Residence Services and Health Promotion to launch Green Dot in fall 2014.

Green Dot launched in fall 2014 as a partnership with Residence Services and Health Promotions

Once recognized as a program with a dedicated budget, SRVSS added a graduate assistant in the fall 2014 to help with prevention education and awareness initiatives. In spring 2015, the GA position shifted to a full-time program coordinator who provided shared programming with the Women’s Center. Through this 20-hour position, SRVSS increased its education to students from less than 20 workshops during the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years to 51 in the 2015-2016 academic year.

In summer 2015, 30 faculty and staff from across several campuses attended a 4-day training for certification as Green Dot educators. This team worked with SRVSS to begin institutionalizing Green Dot not only on the Kent Campus but also on several regional campuses. With a team of educators, engagement with Green Dot exploded. In academic year 16-17, 43 workshops were held just for Green Dot.

SRVSS received, from January 2016 through September 2020, a Victims of Crime Act grant to provide a full-time support services advocate for students. The advocate provided support to 71 students during the first year. With this additional staff person, the SRVSS director was able to focus more on big picture development and continue to grow as a department. This resulted in receiving in Fall 2016 and again in Fall 2019, a three-year Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) – Campus Programs grant.

SRVSS recieved the Victim of Crime Act grant from 2016 to 2020 which helped establish its campus advocate position.

Also, in 2016, SRVSS along with the Women’s Center relocated into the Williamson House. This move allowed SRVSS to pull out of the Women’s Center and be its own department. This move was important in reducing barriers for non-female identifying individuals to feel safe and comfortable in seeking support. In spring 2017, SRVSS added back a graduate assistant through funding from VOCA but at the same time lost the split position with the Women’s Center. The GA focus on awareness initiatives for the Kent Campus increased university wide programming. In summer 2017, as part of the VAWA Campus Programs grant, SRVSS added a project coordinator position, to focus on Green Dot, engaging men and incoming student education.

With a full-time staff member focused on Green Dot and incoming student engagement, this allowed us to complete over 70 Green Dot workshops during academic year 2017-2018. SRVSS, in collaboration with the Title IX Coordinator and Dean of Students, launched “Think About It,” an online interactive module through Campus Clarity for all incoming students also at the beginning of the 2017-2018 academic year. Think About It provided education on healthy relationships, consent, sexual assault, relationship violence and bystander action. During the summer 2018, the staff underwent a re-visioning and rebranding process with the goal of being a Center for Sexual and Relationship Violence Support Services.

Through the VAWA grant, SRVSS has embeded prevention education and initiatives into the fabric of the university.

In Fall 2019, the university shifted to a different platform, Safe Colleges, to continue incoming student education. Additionally, SRVSS obtained university funding for the project coordinator position. This allowed SRVSS and Kent State to instutionalize the work started with the VAWA grant. SRVSS also received a continuation of that grant for an additional three years to expand its work. Then in May 2020, SRVSS moved from the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to the Division of Student Affairs. This move allows SRVSS to better integrate student education, awareness and advocacy within the fabric of the student experience.

Due to cuts to the Victim of Crime Act grant program at the federal level, SRVSS lost its grant for victim advocacy services. However, funding was securedthrough the Division of Student Affairs to instiutionalize this position. Currently SRVSS has three full-time staff and anywhere from 5-8 student interns each semester who provide prevention education, awareness programming and support advocacy. Each year, SRVSS provides support to over 100 survivors and direct prevention education to over 2000 students. In January 2021, SRVSS reassessed its strategic goals to ensure alignment with its home in the Division of  Student Life (formerly Student Affairs).

Since its inception, SRVSS has brought in over 1.1 million dollars in grants to prevent sexual and relationship violence and support survivors.