Victims of sexual assault may not know of a campus service to help them now that federal funding for Helping Abuse and Violence End Now, also known as HAVEN, has not been renewed. The lack of funding will now nearly eliminate an on-campus counseling center for victims of abuse. The program is still active, but the organization is not able to advertise its services. Thus, few know it exists.

The funding was eliminated in July 2003 when a U.S. Department of Justice grant expired. The loss of funding robbed HAVEN of a coordinator position and thus, someone to coordinate advertising. Some people on campus responded to a call for help. The program has received piecemeal funding from various departments, among them the Psychology Department, which trains the unpaid volunteer peer advocates involved in the maintenance of the hotline. While the assistance is good, it is not enough.

HAVEN is one place female students may go to get support in cases of stalking, rape, violence and sexual abuse. However, the program that offers so much and gets so little cannot afford to publicize its offerings to the students of Marquette. The lack of publicity and funding is causing female students to seek other forms of counseling off-campus, and in some cases, is causing students to not seek counseling at all.

The program, once funded by the federal Violence Against Women Act II, is also being kept alive with the help of off-campus community groups such as the Sexual Assault Treatment Center and the Healing Center. However, the groups cannot support HAVEN forever, and the University administration should make it a priority to find a way to make HAVEN self-sufficient so that it may continue to support students who are in need of specialized counseling for abusive and violent relationships.

While the campus community wasn't involved with funding HAVEN's upstart, we feel it should step in now to make HAVEN funding a priority. Maybe a portion of the $54 student activity fee that all undergraduates pay can be put toward funding HAVEN. It is a service that all students can benefit from — one of the qualifications an organization must meet before getting the funds, which MUSG controls.

It would be a shame to let a counseling program like HAVEN disappear when it clearly serves a great service to the entire Marquette community. HAVEN is more than just a safe refuge for women in need. It also can be used to educate the students and faculty of Marquette. If HAVEN were to get funding from the university, several programs could be developed to further educate the students about domestic violence and sexual assault. This education can also be used to further assist education students and teach how to spot victims of abuse and violence in the classroom.

HAVEN benefits nearly everyone on campus. It provides the students a safe place of refuge and could potentially be used to educate the Marquette community about violence and sexual abuse. Marquette needs to have a safe haven where students may seek refuge and get advice without having to go off-campus.

The services hotline number is 288-5746.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Jan. 20 2005.

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