The PREA Resource Center (PRC) in partnership with Just Detention International (JDI) is pleased to announce the Discussion Series for Victim Advocates Supporting Incarcerated Survivors. This program is designed for victim advocacy professionals who currently provide or want to provide emotional support and trauma-informed services to incarcerated survivors. This series will be guided by the issues and interests expressed by participants and will promote peer networking and problem-solving discussions for supporting incarcerated survivors.
Purpose
These discussions are intended to provide opportunities for peer engagement, idea generation, and discussions of innovative solutions and practices related to providing emotional support and trauma-informed services to incarcerated survivors.
Further, these sessions provide an important opportunity for the PRC, JDI, and the PREA Management Office (PMO) within the U.S. Department of Justice to more deeply understand the unique strengths and challenges faced by victim advocates. The PRC, JDI, and the PMO will use the lessons learned during these sessions to inform their ongoing and future work to assist the field.
Details
Virtual discussion sessions will be held periodically beginning in mid- 2024 through early 2025. The intention is for all participants to attend as many of the sessions as possible. This will promote meaningful engagement and relationship-building among participants that can benefit their victim advocacy work.
The discussions will focus on specific victim advocacy topics that are most relevant and important to the participants. Examples include: support for advocates who provide in-person services; relationship building and working with corrections partners; funding challenges; advocate involvement in incident reviews; and understanding the advocate’s role during investigatory interviews. Topics will be determined based on pre- and post-event surveys whereby participants will be able to suggest topics for discussion and share specific challenges and promising practices that will guide the discussions. Please come prepared to ask questions, share stories, and collaborate with one another.
How to register and join sessions
Participants must register for each session individually. The PRC will send reminder announcements prior to each session. As mentioned above, the intention is for all participants to attend as many of the sessions as possible – ideally the full series.
Please click the links below to register for the discussion sessions you are able to attend: