Peer support

A couple of months ago, my boss at the Butler County Rape Crisis Program received word about a grant opportunity through the Ohio Department of Health. As a person who has been directly involved in the grant-seeking/grant-writing process over the past few months, I cringed at the news. I envisioned more late nights staring at a jumble of words, numbers, and dollar signs, and desperately dashing to meet the deadline (at the very last minute, of course). But this grant was different--instead of us jumping through a ton of hoops, all we had to do was express interest, briefly outline how we would spend the money, and wait for confirmation. And by "we," I really mean "not me." I didn't have to do a thing, which made the whole deal even sweeter.

Correction--I did have to do a small thing--I had to agree to help spend the money. Um, score! You would think it would have been a no-brainer--through some money to even the cash match deficit and call it a day. But no--turns out ODH money can be used for pretty much anything BUT leveraging state or federal funds.

(By the way, that cash match deficit has been slowly shrinking after revenue we received from the Vagina Monologues, not to mention anticipated funding from two grants I wrote in March--one to West Chester Community Foundation and one to Butler County United Way (yes-we're trying again for next fiscal year. Fingers crossed!)

Anyway, to spend the money, Jane asked me to help co-facilitate a group with a co-worker, Cindy. Long story short, our schedules didn't coincide, so she and Jane are facilitating one group, and I am co-facilitating a different group with our legal advocate, Jennifer. I've been putting a lot of time into recruitment, preparation, and planning over the past few weeks (which is partly why I've been so silent on here--that and I also got lazy. Hey, I'm honest.) I created a flyer, made calls to recruit for both groups, reviewed group procedures, created confidentiality and evaluation forms, bought a boat-load of snacks and drinks, and sketched out a general outline for the first night. As of Sunday evening, I had a few people confirmed to come to each of our Monday and Tuesday night groups, so imagine our surprise when we had a very low turnout. While many people might be disappointed by this outcome, Jennifer and I ended up feeling very encouraged. In talking with our single group participant on Monday, we realized there is a need for the support group--we just need to do a better job finding and inviting survivors into the group. It's very hard to convince someone to come out to a group on a weeknight for an hour and a half and talk about something you would rather not think about ever again. We get that--but once they get here, they will hopefully find the experience to be very supportive and beneficial. It's a tough obstacle, but we will do better. This week I'll put in more time for more brainstorming and problem-solving, and hopefully we'll double or even triple our turnout next week!

Whatever happens, though, our first week is out of the way, and I am feeling much more confident heading into subsequent group sessions. This has not only been a valuable lesson in group work and co-facilitation, but also in patience and problem-solving. All the makings of a good social worker, I guess! I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue to be part of this project, and I'm hoping it will grow over the next two months.

If you or a woman you know live in the Butler County area, are a survivor of sexual assault or sexual abuse, and are interested in participating in a support group, give us a call--513-523-4149. The groups will be available through the last week of June, and are offered Monday or Tuesday nights from 6-7:30. A support group for Spanish-speaking women will be available soon, too. Check it out!