HARLINGEN — April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and the color teal — which has been used since 2000 to describe trust, devotion and healing from sexual violence — will soon be visible throughout the city.
Because sexual assault awareness is a broad topic that covers survivors from all genders and ages, the Family Crisis Center has different activities planned for each week of April.
Stephanie Rios, Sexual Assault Program Director, along with Jacklyn Medrano, Community Educator, described the variety of activities, the first being the distribution of teal ribbons to local organizations such as the Harlingen Police and Fire Departments to display support of the cause.
“All of Downtown Jackson, their director, is coordinating with us to distribute throughout two blocks,” Rios said.
“Restaurants who have donated and the Harlingen Library as well. We want to touch all the Cameron County area, and our Willacy location is taking care of the Willacy areas,” Medrano said.
In addition, Medrano said it is not needed to be a current sexual assault victim to seek professional help at the center. Every month, a topic is highlighted to remind survivors they can reach out as well.
Consent coloring book
To spread consciousness of the topic to children, the Family Crisis Center spent almost a year, at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, creating a coloring book designed and crafted specifically for children.
“The book is about good touch and bad touch. It is about educating children from ages three on, and it is about sharing with children what areas are private and to understand if they have felt hurt, sad or uncomfortable,” Rios said.
“This way, they can let somebody know about the abuse if it has happened. We have a sheet where we specify the private areas and no one is allowed to touch them,” she said.
The coloring book is in black and white and features cartoon images with information for children to understand what a good touch is as opposed to a bad one.
“A good touch is a hug from my parents, and a bad touch is something I don’t feel safe with,” Rios said.
This is the first time a coloring book has been created at the center.
Podcast episodes every week
The podcast idea began in January 2021. Because of the pandemic, the Family Crisis Center focused on spreading as much information as possible through social media and virtual outlets.
“Everything with COVID-19 has been about working remotely, and we have tried to transition and utilize social media as a platform. We are used to doing outreach at communities, at schools and Head Starts,” Rios said.
“Jacky came up with the idea, and we started it in January where we discussed human trafficking and stalking. In February, we raised awareness for teen dating violence,” she said.
Medrano hosts the podcast and invites guests to speak on the topics being highlighted during the month. Usually, her guests are experts on the issues being discussed in order to provide accurate information to listeners.
“I try to focus on issues I believe the Family Crisis Center needs to bring awareness to our community. For March, we highlighted the location in Raymondville, and we talked about signs of domestic violence,” Medrano said.
The podcast idea has been a different way for outreach to victims and survivors since the pandemic limited the center to in-person events.
“We have been seeing a good response, and people have been reaching out for different topic ideas,” she said.
The podcast episodes are pre-recorded, and in the week of April 5, the topic of discussion will be consent — what is consent, when to ask for consent and how to ask for it.
Later in the month, the second part will focus on self-love and affirmations for sexual assault survivors.
Repeat Performance Thrift Shop
Besides the rest of the activities planned for the month of April, one recurring activity is the thrift shop by the center, which creates revenue for services and victims.
Every month, the window display is changed to fit the theme or topic the center is highlighting to make sure advocacy is still a part of the shop.
Adriana Hernandez, Volunteer Coordinator for Repeat Performance Thrift Shop, said it all depends on the topic, but the window display allows people to keep focus on the center’s services.
Most of the information is incorporated in both English and Spanish.
Hernandez said the thrift store has been open for more than 20 years.
Medrano added many victims are given a voucher for them to get clothes or furniture once they escape a situation of danger and cannot take their belongings.
Rios stressed there is always someone on call at any time for those who need to escape as soon as possible.
“They can call the hotline, and then they will call me or whoever is on call and offer transportation for the shelter if they have nowhere to go, and that is something people do not know,” Rios said.
“One of the benefits of having the thrift store is giving them the opportunity to still receive good condition items,” Medrano said.
Donations are welcome and Medrano said anything is helpful, whether it is clothing or furniture.
“Once a client steps out of the shelter, we help them get assisted with a home or an apartment to be able to step out on their own,” Medrano said.
“Whether it is bedding, a table, anything that makes them feel confident they are walking into a better future,” she said.
In addition, Rios, Medrano and Hernandez said calls to the center have risen since the pandemic began as people have spent more time in their homes.
“It felt like a lot of people were coming forward either from past trauma or trauma they were experiencing now,” Rios said.
“It has been more on domestic violence where people have been speaking out,” she said.
Medrano added more hotline calls have been made this year than in previous years.
All three said it does not matter if someone is a man, transgender or any kind of sexual orientation or legal status to receive aid by the center.
“We just want the community to be involved and aware of not just our services but the importance of preventing and stopping sexual assault,” Medrano said.
“This is just a timeframe where we are able to focus because it does happen, and it is local. And it is something people do not talk about,” she said.
More information:
Family Crisis Center
24-Hour Hotline
Free and confidential services offered
956-423-9304 or 1-866-423-9304
Locations:
>> Harlingen, 616 W. Taylor
>> Raymondville, 192 N. 3rd St. (956-689-5150)
Every 73 seconds an American is sexually assaulted. Every nine minutes the victim is a child. Nine out of every 10 rape victims are female.
