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Mount Aloysius College has received a nearly $300,000 grant to start a center to educate, prevent and respond to sexual assault and domestic violence.
The college's Department of Student Affairs will establish the Healthy Relationships Resource Center, funded by a $290,698 grant from the state Department of Justice.
Tracy McFarland, vice president for student affairs, said the goal is to provide more education and understanding around four main issues: sexual assault, sexual violence, dating violence and domestic violence.
Although the campus has education and training through Title IX, McFarland said this program will provide a resource center specifically dedicated to those four issues.
McFarland said though few sexual violence cases have been reported at college, administrators learned from these incidents that students needed a safe place on campus for information and support.
Hayley Moyer, a junior and resident assistant at the college, said this is one of the most important things the campus can set up. She said some of her family members have been victims of domestic assaults.
"Often people feel they need to hide or not tell anyone," she said.
However, she said that if people on campus have the proper education, they can start to better support one another.
McFarland said the grant solves the problem of limited resources for staffing. She said another benefit is that having an on-campus center with a dedicated program manager means students don't have to travel to Johnstown for support.
Simultaneously, McFarland said part of the efforts are to strengthen communication between law enforcement, the campus and community organizations.
Though the grant is for three years, McFarland said the school plans to sustain the center long term and have it become "part of their system."
Moyer hopes the center will bring the community together on this topic.
"This shows the entire student body: 'We are here to support you,'" she said.
Mirror Staff Writer Dom Cuzzolina is at 946-7428.