Our Statewide Coordinating Council for Later in Life (Council) is a permanent advisory council located within the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault (UCASA). It was established by a vote of the Board of Directors in 2017 to ensure that senior or elder survivors and victims of sexual violence are represented in victim services organizations, institutions, and partnerships that serve sexual violence survivors statewide. This includes but is not limited to:
- Ensuring adequate representation of survivors who are later in life at all Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs) statewide.
- Ensuring that training specific to survivors who are later in life is provided statewide to sexual violence programs, law enforcement, and any other institution that interacts with sexual violence survivors.
- Ensuring that print, online, and others forms of information are available online to improve services for survivors who are later in life.
- Producing materials related to survivors who are later in life are available for distribution statewide with a focus on rural, underserved, and culturally-specific programs and communities.
- Assist organizations serving survivors who are later in life and to understand the unique cultural, historical, and institutional barriers faced by survivors who are later in life to accessing services.
- As the Council expands we expect that members of the Council and the community will identify additional goals and objectives that cannot currently be anticipated by our organization.
The Council addresses many important issues of interest to survivors who are later in life. The Council utilizes the existing infrastructure of UCASA to define issues of concern to survivors who are later in life and find innovative ways of utilizing UCASA’s resources to help address these issues. Council members meet monthly and provide quarterly status updates to the Board of Directors.
Program Overview
The Council consists of a one-year time commitment and is designed to provide participants with fundamental leadership skills and an opportunity to engage in organizational-level strategy and implementation. The interactive nature of the Council is designed to reflect on such leadership indicators as collaboration, diversity and the role of the change-maker. These indicators are crucial for today’s leadership roles in the sexual violence movement. Membership is akin to a one-year term on the Board of Directors of the agency. Members of the Council are considered voting members of an official advisory council of the Board of Directors of UCASA with the responsibility to assist with the strategic execution of the mission, vision, values, and goals of UCASA.
Participants
Participants come from a broad range of corporate, civic and volunteer backgrounds. Anyone with demonstrated experience and expertise in working with victims and survivors who are later in life may apply to join the council. You can apply by completing the following application.
