The Asylum Program of Southern Arizona
From Armenia to Zimbabwe, the Asylum Program of Southern Arizona (APSA) has helped hundreds of refugees in this urgent human rights arena: obtaining asylum status in the US as they flee desperate, horror-filled lives in their homelands. Begun two years ago under the auspices of Catholic Social Services of Southern Arizona, APSA assigns immigration attorneys to walk refugees through a complex and unforgiving legal system, helping refugees obtain political asylum, legal protection, permanent legal status, and work permits.

The Women's Foundation proudly backs the Women's Political Asylum Project, an arm of the larger APSA, for its encapsulation of the values expressed in our mission statement, 'helping women and girls overcome economic, political, gender, and social barriers.' The Project has taken on nearly 50 female clients so far this year, aiming to win asylum for female refugees who, based on such 'crimes' as divorcing an abusive husband or threatening to reveal the identities of child rapists, have been terrorized with gang rapes, genital mutilation, torture, imprisonment, and threats of death. The refugees who come to the US are susceptible to exploitation and abuse, unable to support themselves because they cannot work legally. Once documented, however, they are empowered to leave precarious situations, and are able to begin new lives for themselves. , and the Women's Political Asylum Project in particular, is critical to the empowerment of women.

The compassionate and humane work of the advocates at APSA has grown so considerably that the group has needed to spread its wings. In September, the staff moved out of the offices provided by Catholic Social Services and into offices of their own, and the Program is currently seeking its own, distinct 501(c)3 non-profit status from the IRS. Best of luck as you grow, APSA!

Casa de Esperanza
Casa de Esperanza was originally incorporated by a group of local residents in 1988 to provide shelter for women who were victims of domestic violence. Because we were unable to find a facility to address that need, we established the Care Line (our 24/7 crisis intervention hotline) to provide as much help as possible to victims. In response to community needs, intergenerational programs were developed to serve families with young children and retired elderly people. In 2001 Casa further expanded services to become the licensed provider of behavioral health services for Green Valley and rural southeastern Pima County.

Today Casa is the leading social service and behavioral health provider in the greater Green Valley area. Our mission continues to be providing high quality, caring human services specializing in intergenerational day programs and behavioral health services in Green Valley and the surrounding rural communities.

Casa de Esperanza has identified a lack of services for victims of domestic violence and the need for increased community awareness about this issue in Green Valley and the surrounding rural communities of Sahuarita, Amado and Arivaca. The ambitious Domestic Violence Prevention Project was created one year ago to offer a three-pronged approach: it aims to educate victims, friends, neighbors, and community workers about the dynamics and the signs and symptoms of abuse; it brings together personnel from relevant agencies to create a Coordinated Community Response Team to identify service needs and gaps and to design delivery system protocols for a more efficient response to people seeking assistance; and it avails itself to victims of domestic violence by offering information and referral services. Eligible individuals and their families may be referred to behavioral health services, as appropriate. Of the 26 women served in the past year, 4 Behavioral Health clients were referred to the DV program and 3 DV clients were referred to the Behavioral Health program. A total of 24 presentations have been made to local clubs and organizations.

Teach Women to Fish: Tools for Developing an Organization's Services for Women
A project of La Frontera Center, Inc.

Give a (woman) a fish and (she) eats for a day. Teach (her) to fish and (she) will have fish for a lifetime. ---Chinese proverb

Women are over-represented in the behavioral health system, and many of the clients seen in community mental health centers, shelters, and other programs for women struggle with identity issues related to independence, intimacy, economic status, and family. Substance dependence, domestic violence, and depression are well-documented problems that in many cases are caused by gender-related issues.

The Teach Women to Fish project will offer community organizations a roadmap for social change within the organization. This project includes the creation of an assessment tool that will be used by organizations providing behavioral health services to assess their quality of services for women. The assessment tool will also be used to obtain client feedback and measure program satisfaction. Use of this tool will allow organizations to improve their services based upon nationally recognized best practices for services to women.

A workgroup of six clinicians and supervisors from La Frontera, who share an interest and expertise in services to women, meet regularly to work on this assessment. First, the group shared literature and training materials on women?s treatment, and conducted a literature search for best practices. They then conducted local focus groups with women who are currently in treatment for mental health problems and/ or substance abuse. The women, many of whom had reported being in treatment several times, discussed their experiences of treatment and ways to improve its quality and effectiveness. The women expressed the importance of creating a nurturing versus a punitive environment where they could learn new ways of coping with life's challenges. For the first time, some women expressed, they were learning to trust and like women, where prior to their treatment experience several reported hating themselves and other women as well. Furthermore, the focus group participants identified the following items as optimal elements in their treatment:

• Training in parenting skills
• Reducing stress
• Instruction in the life skills needed to assist in getting an education or a job
• Prioritizing the care of unattended health and dental problems
• Offering safe and reliable childcare options

Notably, the comments from the participants mirrored what the workgroup found in the national literature on best practices.

The assessment will be completed this fall. Our hope is that programs that work with women, both here in Tucson and around the country, can use this tool to plan, assess, and make improvements in their services. If you are interested in more information about this project, please contact Christine Miller, Ph.D., at 838-3888.

Wingspan
Wingspan works in collaboration with the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation and the Pima County Health Department to operate the Eon Youth Lounge, providing a safe space for Tucson's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) youth and their allies.

At the Eon Youth Lounge, we empower young women to become involved in their communities and fight for LGBT people's safety and rights, helping to ensure a better future for themselves and other LGBT people. We also encourage youth to express themselves, taking the issue of representation of LGBT youth into their own hands. Thus, our young women address the root causes of oppression; and along the way, they increase their own coping skills, self-esteem, social skills and involvement, and leadership abilities.

With funding this year from the Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona, young women at Eon have taken part in an ongoing Creative Writing for Grrrls class at Eon, where participants practice stream-of-consciousness writing, activities to overcome 'blank page syndrome,' and more. They recently went on a fieldtrip to hear a talk given by Pat Califia, an influential transgender writer and activist.

A group of young women then crafted their photography, poetry, art and prose into a zine, a self-published magazine. In addition to creating the content of the zine, the youth designed, cut, pasted, and edited the publication at their weekly 'Grrrl's Nights.' By distributing the zine, these young women shared their views and talents with other members of the Tucson community.

The group's work is continuing with a project that hopes to increase awareness and change Tucson's perception of young LBT women. Young women at Eon are challenging the uniformity of the few images that attempt to represent their communities by designing and creating posters that reflect their own diversity. Through this process, they are discussing what it means to challenge assumptions of gender, learning how to be effective in reaching a broad audience, and learning how to organize as community activists.

We are excited to continue the work that the Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona has made possible!

Su Voz Vale
The Su Voz Vale/Your Voice Counts program is a department of the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault. Our mandate is to provide bilingual/bicultural services to the predominately Latino south, southwest and west sections of Tucson. We have been in existence since 1998 and continue to expand every year. Currently there are three full time staff people, Montserrat Caballero, Director, Delia Gastelum, Crisis Advocate/Educator, and Ophelia Zamora, Therapist.

One of the biggest issues we face is how to deliver services that respond to every need of our clients. We offer in person crisis intervention and advocacy, prevention education for youth in and out of school, to community members and professionals, and ongoing specialized therapy for the whole family. Our service population consists primarily of women and adolescent girls aged 12 and up who are of Mexican or other Latino descent. Many of them are immigrants who speak little to no English. They have many barriers to seeking services that include cultural barriers such as not knowing the laws, where to go for help, and dealing with taboos of speaking about sexuality and sexual violence.

Additionally, fear is a huge barrier to seeking help. Sexual violence victim/survivors fear not being believed and being blamed for the violence they experience. This keeps many people from ever seeking help, or talking about their experiences. The clients of Su Voz Vale also fear cultural insensitivity, anti-immigrant sentiments, being asked for their immigration status, and the economic consequences of what may happen if they can't support their families.

As a program, we must strive to create trust, be a support in whatever way we can, and help victim/survivors come to terms with what happened and begin the healing process.

The fall is always one of our busiest seasons, as we prepare for our even busier spring. We participate in several community events in the spring that raise awareness and consciousness about violence against women and children. Our own Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (April) event entitled De Mano A Mano (From Helping Hand to Helping Hand) happens at the end of April. Plans are already underway to create a festival type event where issues that our community faces around violence can be dealt with in an open, engaging way. We hope to involve youth of all ages so that positive messages about how to be respectful and have healthy relationships will be delivered from peer to peer. Breaking the silence about sexual violence is the main objective of this event.

We appreciate the collaborations we have been able to create over the years, and are especially appreciative of the support from the Women's Foundation. If you would like more information about our program, please call us at 434-0195.

The results of philanthropy are always beyond calculation. -Miriam Beard, 1938

Boys and Girls Club of Bisbee
SMART Girls
How would you feel if you lived in a rural town rife with poverty, with one of the highest dropout rates in the state, where a disproportionate number of girls find themselves pregnant before they reach 20 years old, and where many teens struggle with poor nutrition and fitness, leading to a near epidemic of Type II diabetes? What would you do if you lived in this town?

Picturesque Bisbee, Arizona, faces these and other challenges as its next generation of leaders comes of age. The Boys and Girls Club of Bisbee refuses to watch its teens succumb to the tolls of poverty, however, and using a $5,000 grant from the Women's Foundation, they have implemented a program aimed at reclaiming the lives of Bisbee's girls.

The program, called SMART Girls, is a curriculum developed by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America specifically for girls ages 7-15. Teaching participants about life skills, their changing bodies, healthy eating and fitness, accessing the health care system, and the importance of having adult role models, the program is designed to help smooth the transition from adolescence to adulthood in a relaxed, safe, non-school setting.

The girls love it! Writing about her experience in the program, one participant said, 'I like SMART Girls because it gives us information on how to take care of our bodies and because it gives us something to do. It's fun.'

After the program has seen several years in Bisbee, the Boys and Girls Club expects that the lives of the town's young women will show improvement in graduation rates, rates of community involvement, pregnancy rates, and diagnoses of Type II Diabetes.

Planned Parenthood
Funding from the Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona may help the passage of positive legislation for Arizona women for the second year in a row. Last year, one of our grants helped Planned Parenthood of Southern Arizona get a bill through the Arizona State Legislature requiring that employers not discriminate against contraception in their health plans. This year, Women's Foundation funding is supporting Planned Parenthood's work with a coalition of sexual assault and public health groups to pass the Compassionate Care for Sexual Assault Survivors Bill (SB 1087 in the Arizona Senate and HB 2374 in the House), which would require that health care professionals offer emergency contraception to women who have been raped.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, an estimated 25,000 pregnancies result from rape in the United States each year, about 22,000 of which could be prevented if all women who were raped used emergency contraception. While American Medical Association guidelines require that rape survivors be offered emergency contraception, many health care providers fail to do so. A 2002 study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine found that less than half of sexual assault survivors/victims at risk of pregnancy treated in hospital emergency departments received emergency contraception.

Emergency contraceptive pills are approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for use as a contraceptive. They contain a high dose of the hormones found in regular birth control pills, and work in exactly the same way.

The Compassionate Care for Sexual Assault Survivors Bill will ensure that the ability of a woman to prevent a pregnancy resulting from a violent assault does not depend on where in Arizona she lives, or who happens to be on duty when she presents for medical care, or whether or not she chooses to report the crime to law enforcement. At the time of writing, the bill had successfully passed two committees in the House and one in the Senate, in itself an achievement in a state legislature that contains fewer women and is more conservative than its predecessor. We hope that the bill will go on to repeat the success of last year's Contraceptive Equity bill.

Libre de Violencia
Victims/survivors of domestic violence are more likely to return to an abusive relationship if they are financially dependent on their abuser. This is especially true for women with dependent children.

In Nogales, Southeastern Arizona Behavioral Health Services, Inc. (SEABHS) found the victims/survivors they served faced an additional obstacle: many of them were monolingual Spanish speakers who lacked US educational credentials, such as a high school diploma, that would allow them to obtain employment.

SEABHS staff realized it was not their lack of English proficiency that stood between these women and employment - in a bilingual border community such as Nogales, jobs do exist for monolingual Spanish speakers. Rather, it was their lack of a high school diploma that prevented them from getting a job that would allow them to be financially self-sufficient and safe from abuse.

In a solution elegant in its simplicity, SEABHS, with input from clients, established Spanish-language GED classes solely for women in its domestic violence program. When the women said they wanted a 'live' teacher, and not computerized instruction, SEABHS listened, and contracted with a certified instructor to teach the class. "Many of these women were educated in Mexico," said site administrator Dan Barden. "They indicated they would be more comfortable learning in a traditional classroom setting."

In addition to classroom instruction, SEABHS provides an on-site domestic violence advocate during class hours, child care, transportation to and from the classes as necessary, and financial assistance for books, supplies and testing fees.

Classmates also become a peer support group. "If one woman says it's too hard, she's going to drop out, the other women encourage her to stay," said Maria Delores Losoya, one of the two domestic violence advocates who helped found the program.

The classes meet weekly for six months, and of the 14 women who completed the first class series, 100% passed their GED test.

After graduation, SEABHS assists the women in finding employment. The Women's Foundation is supporting SEABHS's request for additional funds from the Governor's Office to expand their employment services, based on their initial success with the GED program. "This is a great example of how a modest initial investment by the Women's Foundation can be leveraged to provide a continuum of services," said WFSA Executive Director Laura Penny.

Girls With Tools
Girls With Tools is a program of the Zuni Ave. Peace Center (ZAPC), a community and peace-building organization located in the Corbett neighborhood of southeast Tucson. ZAPC believes that connecting with each other and with the environment leads to a healthier neighborhood and a more peaceful world.

The Girls With Tools program began in August 2002, offered as a weekly workshop to girls 8 - 15 years old. It began as the brainchild of several girls who desired more experience in using hand and power tools. At a previous mixed-gender workshop held at ZAPC, adult volunteers noticed how the girls tended to relinquish their tools to the more experienced and assertive boys, who wanted to "show them how," or "do it for them." The more inexperienced girls, afraid of looking stupid, often backed down in silence. Soon, though, the girls voiced frustration over the lack of opportunities to learn about and use tools, and they requested a regular time to develop their skills in a more girl-friendly environment.

And, that is just what they did! Every Wednesday afternoon at ZAPC you can find a group of women and girls working together to unravel the "mysteries" of tools and how things are put together. It's challenging, empowering, and, for many of them, new territory.

Girls With Tools meets weekly, year-round. A typical project begins with 8 girls, mainly, though not exclusively, from the Corbett neighborhood, and 2-4 women volunteers, including the program facilitator. The group decides together on a woodworking project to build, enabling the girls to exercise group decision-making skills. Projects have included bookshelves, French herb cabinets, coat racks and dollhouses. Each project that a girl builds is hers to keep.

Prior to the start of a new project, the program director, Leslie Pike, and the women volunteers meet to discuss the project plans and, together, build a prototype. This ensures that each volunteer has the necessary hands-on experience and skills to assist the girls in the workshops. Building plans are often rewritten in more youth-friendly language and the workshops are broken down into manageable steps, with a specific learning focus, such as reading plans, measuring, sawing, drilling, sanding, or assembling. Cooperation, safety, and teamwork are the hallmarks of the workshops, as each participant has opportunities to teach, as well as to learn from others.

In addition to the projects they build for themselves, Girls With Tools also engages in one or two service projects a year. For the past two years, the girls have made the Neighborhood Successes Awards for ProNeighborhoods' Fiesta de los Barrios. This provides them with the opportunity to contribute their skills to the larger community, and allows them to experience themselves as capable and strong.

Microbusiness Advancement Center
The Microbusiness Advancement Center of Southern Arizona (MAC) is committed to developing Latina entrepreneurs. Each year the agency helps dozens of aspiring Latina business owners pursue their goals. One is Debbie Rodriguez.

Debbie Rodriguez recognized a need in her community, students were having trouble grasping math concepts. She saw there weren't enough resources within the school system to help many students succeed. Debbie Rodriguez used her entrepreneurial spirit to create a business that is helping kids make the grade.

Tutoring Solutions, LLC came together at MAC when Rodriguez enrolled in the Business Planning Course. She learned how to analyze her industry, identify her target market, how to promote her business and countless other concepts. At the end of the 14-week course, Rodriguez had a business plan -- a blueprint of her organization and a roadmap for future growth.

Rodriguez is one of 261 women who utilized MAC's services in 2004 and one of dozens of Latinas who wanted to turn their dreams of owning a business into reality. She is also the recipient of a MAC microloan, which helped fund her new enterprise.

The Business Planning Course and microloan services are just two available to Southern Arizona Latinas who come to MAC. One-on-one counseling services, topical seminars, a mentor-protege program and executive course are among the others. Additionally, most of these services are available in Spanish.

The value of these programs for Latinas is much more than educational. The businesses these women create give them economic power, and in many cases can bring their families out of poverty. In some cases their microenterprises provide an alternative to minimum wage labor and public assistance.

Students come out of MAC programs with the skills necessary to understand their business and industry, and the know-how to make changes when necessary. They also come away with added self-esteem, having committed to a process and following through. Added skills and self-esteem are also two things that Rodriguez's students come away with, after their experience with Tutoring Solutions, LLC.

A 2004 grant from the Women's Foundation enabled MAC to expand their services to Latinas. If you or someone you know wants to start or grow their small business, call MAC at 520.620.1241.

MAC's 2005 Leadership Luncheon, featuring Nina Gibson Roosevelt, granddaughter of Eleanor Roosevelt, will be held April 28, 2005 at the Radisson City Center from noon to 1:30 pm. Tickets are available by calling 520-620-1241.

Domestic Violence Education and Prevention for Incarcerated Women
Women inmates at the Pima County Adult Detention Center in Tucson, Arizona are benefiting from a new domestic violence education program that addresses issues common to at least 70% of incarcerated women. In fact, it is not uncommon for abusers to have their women commit crimes for them. Traumatic relationships tend to affect negatively one's sense of self esteem, and cultivate a sense of powerlessness to affect or break away from a relationship. Indeed, a number of women inmates may actually choose jail sentences as a passive means of escaping an abusive partner.

Thanks in part to a grant from the Women's Foundation to Administration of Resources and Choices, a Tucson non-profit, a new and already highly popular six-week program focuses entirely on issues related to domestic violence. Classes are divided into six one-week units, so that short term inmates can benefit from attending portions of the classes, or can enter the program at any time and still be able to cycle through the entire series. The primary instructor is a psychiatric nurse specialist, with experience as a clinical therapist, a substance abuse specialist, and she is also a communications skills instructor.

First in the series of classes, which combine instruction, guest speakers, video, and interactive discussions, is an overview of domestic violence. Discussion centers on key issues of power and control, as well as the various reasons why women remain with abusive partners.

The next unit focuses on what domestic violence does to its victims. Participants discuss the cycle of violence, the connection between abusive behavior and substance abuse, and predictable emotional and behavioral reactions of both adults and children.

Third and fourth of the program's units address issues of self esteem, assertive communications skills, and understanding of one's own emotional needs. Planning for safety, assessing how dangerous a relationship is, and using community resources to break the violence cycle are topics for these last two weeks of classes.

Of 14 inmates who recently completed a 'Danger Assessment' questionnaire for the class, six said their abuser had forced sex on them. Nine reported having had a weapon used against them, or having been threatened with a deadly weapon. Of those, six said the weapon was a gun. Nine felt their abuser was capable of killing them.

Classes are generally upbeat, always supportive, with each inmate participant receiving a 'Certificate of Accomplishment' for participation in each unit. The stated goal of the program is summed up in the word 'empowerment.' Women provided with basic knowledge, who spend time looking at the patterns of their own lives, and who share insights with non-judgmental people who have similar experiences, can begin the process of taking charge of their lives.

A recent participant wrote that she first postponed her wedding as a result of the classes, then ended the relationship entirely, as it was 'built on fear.' Another said that for her, domestic violence led to her 'self-medication' with drugs, and then to repetitive violence. A forty-two year old inmate wrote she was surprised to learn that anyone else understood what she has been experiencing for twenty-five years. She considered these classes potentially life changing. Hopefulness, for the future, for their children, for future relationships, is a common theme of inmate evaluations.

One of the central goals of the domestic violence classes, according to instructor Liz Kinsworthy, is to help women continue healing way beyond the program itself, to identify and on release to access community resources which will assist them in recovery. 'The majority of the women want help to be able to have a life free from abuse,' she said.

At the Pima County Jail tools are now available to help women begin to take charge of their lives, to move beyond the cycle of abuse, for themselves and for their children.

Repairing the World with Beauty

Somali Bantu refugee women are learning an important self-employment skill: how to do research on the Internet and sell their products online. The women have been successfully selling their beaded jewelry at conferences and special events for over two years. Now, with the help of a grant from the Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona, they are going online to reach a larger market for their products as well as stay updated in the ever-changing jewelry industry.

“Repairing the World with Beauty” was started by Zeinab Mamburuku and Mette Brogden within three months after Zeinab arrived as a refugee through Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Southern Arizona, and Mette was her family ties volunteer. Mette noticed that the new Somali Bantu women were wearing beaded necklaces when they arrived. She took some of her loose beads to Zeinab, and the next day all the women refugees wore beautiful new necklaces. Zeinab had shared the beads in the community, and everyone got to work. A month later, the women brought 30 necklaces to sell at an African Arts festival on U of A campus, and sold out. They decided to use their proceeds to buy more beads, and though they didn’t know it yet, their self-employment project was underway.

When Mette joined JFCS to head the Refugee Services Department, she noticed that many Somali Bantu women were having difficulty getting jobs due to pregnancy, anemia, and taking care of their large families. They also faced significant employment barriers associated with lack of English, literacy, formal education, and wage labor experience. Since refugees must be economically self-sufficient within four months after arrival, Mette was worried. How would these large families stay afloat? “Repairing the World with Beauty” became a way to teach self-employment business skills, and the women have learned a way to bring income to their families. Perhaps more importantly, the women felt a lot of pride that they could make jewelry that others valued and would buy.

JFCS has been sponsoring the project as a sheltered self-employment training project ever since. They have sold their jewelry primarily at special events and with the assistance of JFCS staff and volunteers. With the grant from WFSA to take marketing online, not only will the women be empowered to sell on their own schedules, but they are learning important computer and Internet skills that may eventually help them secure better jobs. Or, become full-time jewelers working at home and caring for their children, who learn the skills right along with the moms. The training takes an “each one teach one” approach. Mette trains Zeinab-whose English and reading skills are at the highest level in the group-and then Zeinab tutors another woman. Mette notes, “Learning a new skill happens fastest when you have to turn around and teach someone else what you are learning.”

They hope to make their first online sale in October. For more information about this project, Mette Brogden can be reached online at metteb@jfcstucson.org.

Men's Anti-violence Partnership - Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault
The Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault is Arizona's oldest and largest provider of sexual violence prevention and treatment services. Since 1973, the Center has provided 24-hour bilingual crisis services, comprehensive mental health services, prevention and community education, and innovative programs designed for communities in need.

In 2006, the Center Against Sexual Assault launched a new program aimed at furthering our prevention efforts the Men's Anti-violence Partnership (MAP). The facts are sobering: one-third of girls younger than age 18 are sexually abused, one out of every six adult women is raped and the majority of this violence is committed by men. However, most men are not violent. The mission of the Men's Anti-violence Partnership is to end men's violence against women and girls in our community. MAP is designed to engage males in actively working together with women to eliminate sexual violence. MAP asks men to pledge never to commit, condone, or remain silent about sexual violence, and to use their resources to support change.

The Men?s Anti-Violence Partnership has two major goals: engaging and educating men to recognize and put an end to behavior patterns that encourage, propagate, and support a culture of rape and sexual violence; and, raising operating funds to support the prevention education efforts at the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault.

Since its inception, MAP has addressed its second goal by hosting an annual Gala event and fundraiser. The Gala not only raises funds for prevention education but also highlights community leaders who embody the spirit of the Men's Anti-violence Partnership. MAP will stage its second annual awards gala -- 'A Marvelous Night at the Casa Club' -- on November 18, 2007, 5-9 pm, at the Westin La Paloma Resort. Dr. Richard H. Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the United States and now Vice Chairman of Canyon Ranch and CEO of Canyon Ranch Health, will keynote the event.

MAP has also moved forward and begun to directly engage and educate men. MAP hosts Education Forums with varying topics. One summarized the curriculum used by the Center Against Sexual Assault's prevention educators, another (led by Dr. Richard Morris) was on conduct disorders, and a forum scheduled in September will focus on media violence with guest speaker Dr. Edward Donnerstein (the dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Arizona). Also, the Coaching Boys into Men public service announcements featured MAP members Lute Olson (UA basketball coach) and Mike Stoops (UA football coach). Finally, MAP members will be participating in a speaker's bureau training this fall so they can deliver into the community the message that men must take responsibility for ending men's violence against women.

Of course, MAP and the Women's Foundation also support other functions of the Community Prevention Education and Outreach department. We are continuing our classroom curriculum'starting off strong by educating the entire seventh grade at Utterback Middle School in September. Also starting in September will be an ongoing commitment to provide prevention education workshops to young, low-risk, high-need men on probation through Pima County Juvenile Court. The department is also piloting a peer educator program at Desert View High School which will train students to teach our prevention workshops to their classmates. Finally, in collaboration with Community Partnership of Southern Arizona and Pima Community College, we will be delivering a one-credit, web-based course that high school teachers can take for continuing education units. In this course teachers will learn how to present our 7-10 lesson curriculum in their own classrooms, thus vastly increasing the reach of our message.

This is an exciting time for the Men's Anti-violence Partnership and for the Center Against Sexual Assault as a whole. If you would like to get involved with MAP please email: aching@sacasa.org

Men's Anti-violence Partnership - Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault
The Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault is Arizona's oldest and largest provider of sexual violence prevention and treatment services. Since 1973, the Center has provided 24-hour bilingual crisis services, comprehensive mental health services, prevention and community education, and innovative programs designed for communities in need.

In 2006, the Center Against Sexual Assault launched a new program aimed at furthering our prevention efforts'the Men's Anti-violence Partnership (MAP). The facts are sobering: one-third of girls younger than age 18 are sexually abused, one out of every six adult women is raped and the majority of this violence is committed by men. However, most men are not violent. The mission of the Men's Anti-violence Partnership is to end men's violence against women and girls in our community. MAP is designed to engage males in actively working together with women to eliminate sexual violence. MAP asks men to pledge never to commit, condone, or remain silent about sexual violence, and to use their resources to support change.

The Men's Anti-Violence Partnership has two major goals: engaging and educating men to recognize and put an end to behavior patterns that encourage, propagate, and support a culture of rape and sexual violence; and, raising operating funds to support the prevention education efforts at the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault.

Since its inception, MAP has addressed its second goal by hosting an annual Gala event and fundraiser. The Gala not only raises funds for prevention education but also highlights community leaders who embody the spirit of the Men's Anti-violence Partnership. MAP will stage its second annual awards gala -- 'A Marvelous Night at the Casa Club' -- on November 18, 2007, 5-9 pm, at the Westin La Paloma Resort. Dr. Richard H. Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the United States and now Vice Chairman of Canyon Ranch and CEO of Canyon Ranch Health, will keynote the event.

MAP has also moved forward and begun to directly engage and educate men. MAP hosts Education Forums with varying topics. One summarized the curriculum used by the Center Against Sexual Assault's prevention educators, another (led by Dr. Richard Morris) was on conduct disorders, and a forum scheduled in September will focus on media violence with guest speaker Dr. Edward Donnerstein (the dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Arizona). Also, the Coaching Boys into Men public service announcements featured MAP members Lute Olson (UA basketball coach) and Mike Stoops (UA football coach). Finally, MAP members will be participating in a speaker's bureau training this fall so they can deliver into the community the message that men must take responsibility for ending men's violence against women.

Of course, MAP and the Women's Foundation also support other functions of the Community Prevention Education and Outreach department. We are continuing our classroom curriculum'starting off strong by educating the entire seventh grade at Utterback Middle School in September. Also starting in September will be an ongoing commitment to provide prevention education workshops to young, low-risk, high-need men on probation through Pima County Juvenile Court. The department is also piloting a peer educator program at Desert View High School which will train students to teach our prevention workshops to their classmates. Finally, in collaboration with Community Partnership of Southern Arizona and Pima Community College, we will be delivering a one-credit, web-based course that high school teachers can take for continuing education units. In this course teachers will learn how to present our 7-10 lesson curriculum in their own classrooms, thus vastly increasing the reach of our message.

This is an exciting time for the Men's Anti-violence Partnership and for the Center Against Sexual Assault as a whole. If you would like to get involved with MAP please email: aching@sacasa.org

Mature Workers Connection - Pima Council on Aging
Researchers agree that millions of 'baby boomers' will work longer than their parents, but what kind of work will they do' Many say they want work that provides income, impact and meaning, while improving the quality of life in their communities, but where will they find it?

Mature women are especially disadvantaged in the job market for many reasons, including insufficient education or training for employment (women 50 and older are less likely to have had continuous employment throughout their adult lives than men of the same age); inadequate funding for retirement (only 28.5% of all women today receive pension income); and often the necessity of caring for an aging parent or family member.

Older women also are increasingly deciding to stay in the workforce, design a new career path, face the need to conduct a new job search, or re-enter the workforce.

The nexus of fostering economic opportunities for mature women and creating a better job market for older women during the next chapter of their lives is at the core of a unique partnership forged by the Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona and Pima Council on Aging's Mature Worker Connection (MWC).

The partnership began last year when Mature Worker Connection received a WFSA grant for its proposal to explore the needs of women 50 and older in the local job market, determine barriers to the employability of mature women, particularly low-income women. Last fall, MWC conducted five focus groups in Pima County to determine the unique issues and challenges facing mature women job seekers. Participants ranged in age from 50 to 90. All five groups identified a number of common themes, including the need for flexibility, upgrading computer skills, and overcoming employers' perceptions of mature workers.

In addition to addressing the needs of the workers themselves, MWC also works to educate employers on the benefits of hiring mature workers, and maintains a list of potential employees for those employers seeking to hire a mature worker. Functioning much like an employment service, MWC refers job candidates with appropriate skills to employers who register with the agency.

To increase employer awareness about the benefits of hiring mature workers, MWC, in partnership with the Women's Foundation, the YWCA of Tucson and the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau, convened a half-day conference on workforce development issues in October 2007. Entitled 'Building a Workforce for Change,' the conference faculty included federal, state, regional and local experts in the fields of economic development, aging, commerce and human resources. A wide range of local employers and human resource specialists engaged in discussions about emerging workforce development issues such as flex-options, trends in recruitment and retention of mid-life job seekers.

Once the focus group data have been analyzed, MWC, in partnership with the Women's Foundation, will develop an action plan to address the barriers mature women face in obtaining employment, with the ultimate goal of improving placement and retention of mature women workers.