Westminster gets It’s On Us funding

Westminster received a $37,674 It’s On Us PA grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education to combat campus sexual assault.

Launched in 2016 by former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, the It’s On Us PA grant aims to increase awareness, education and resources for sexual assault prevention and victim support initiatives at higher education institutions.

Thirty-nine higher education and postsecondary institutions were awarded grants.

“With this grant, we will be able to build upon the foundation set after receiving the Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) grant in 2019 to reduce sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking on campus," said Dr. Gina Vance, vice president of student affairs.

Vance said the OVW grant allowed the College to enhance campus prevention and response efforts and establish a robust campus prevention program to educate students, while also forming a partnership with the community-based victim services provider, Arise.

The It’s On Us PA grant funds will help expand on education efforts, including more campus-wide awareness campaigns and student-driven programming.

The grant will also be used to develop a campus-wide referral network of faculty and staff volunteers, provide training to staff who provide direct services to student survivors and implement an upgraded confidential records database. The College also plans to partner with the Persad Center of Pittsburgh to improve services for LGBTQ+ survivors of interpersonal violence.