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By Teresa Anderson, Public Policy Director, The Arc/UCP California Collaboration
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. During this month people across the United States raise awareness about sexual violence, how to prevent it, and how to support those affected by it. The Arc of CA and ValorUS (formerly California Coalition Against Sexual Assault – Cal CASA) have partnered to bring awareness to the high rate of sexual assault and abuse of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and the need to expand capacity of services to support survivors with IDD. We are very proud of the hard work we have done over the last three years to identify the needs of both communities – the IDD community and the Rape Crisis Centers – by conducting needs assessments, focus groups, and building our collaboration. We are nearing the end of the grant for our project and beginning to develop a Key Findings Report that we are hoping to use to further the great work that we have started. We will share our Key Findings Report in the near future and look forward to being able to build upon the great work we have done so far.
The vision of C.A. LEADDS is that people with IDD who are impacted by sexual violence across the state of CA will have access to services that are safe, barrier-free, and responsive to their needs. The mission of the partnership is to transform both ValorUS and The Arc of CA member agencies’ capacity to support the empowerment of survivors of sexual violence with IDD in CA by fostering organizational change and improved knowledge among staff. The aim is to reduce barriers and enhance safety for people with IDD, develop strategies for increases access to services within rape crisis centers (RCCs), and develop strategies for increasing knowledge about RCCs at the local level for individuals with IDD who may needs their services, as well as family members and service providers.