UCI Giving Day 2023

The mission of UCI CARE is to provide free and confidential support services to members of the UCI community who have been impacted by sexual assault, relationship abuse, family violence and/or stalking. Programs and services are available to people of all identities and regardless of status. UCI CARE, which is supported through gifts to the Student Services Fund, aims to end these forms of power-based personal violence by engaging the campus community in education, programming and transformative action.

UCI CARE’s Giving Day 2023 campaign is titled "Supporting Survivors, Shifting Culture” - capturing both the support and advocacy services provided to community members who have experienced harm as well as prevention education and programming efforts.

Surveys consistently report that the highest rates of sexual violence and relationship abuse occur at the highest rates in college and university settings, with certain communities being especially at risk, including communities of color, undocumented students, members of the LGBT community and individuals with disabilities. 

While the University offers multiple avenues for a formal campus response, these options may not be accessible for all members of the community, and there are limitations to the extent that these options can be utilized, such as jurisdictional issues, limits of legal and policy definitions, the affiliations of parties involved, and evidence requirements. In addition, for a variety of reasons, most survivors do not choose to make a formal report to campus or law enforcement. CARE services are uniquely positioned to serve the needs of survivors, reducing opportunities for secondary victimization by remediating harmful impacts and addressing issues of the highest risk to health and safety.

CARE Advocates focus exclusively on supporting the survivor’s chosen path for safety and healing. Their role is to provide survivors with confidential and privileged crisis intervention; information about rights and options; safety planning; assistance with academic, employment, and safe housing accommodations; accompaniment in medical, court, administrative, and educational settings; support with financial and basic needs; as well as support in trauma recovery and healing. 

"I liked learning different ways and ideas for protecting myself. The presentation was really impactful - it is okay to look and ask for help." (re:Assert: Personal Safety & Self-Defense Workshop participant)

"I learned how to cope with my emotions and recenter my thoughts." (Grounding Box Workshop Participant)

Trauma impacts individuals in a variety of ways and is unique to the person. People also heal differently and it’s often a combination of modalities that facilitate healing for someone. CARE’s holistic healing programming seeks to support members of the UCI community by providing multiple pathways to healing and creating safe, restorative spaces for individuals to begin or continue their healing journey. CARE’s holistic healing programs include trauma-informed yoga, meditation, grounding exercise workshops, drum circles, a healing library (digital and physical)  and healing playlists and access to downloadable resources. Additional funds will enable CARE to sustain these programs and expand the type and variety of healing options available to survivors in the UCI community.

In addition to healing programs, the funds raised for CARE Survivor Support allows the CARE office to support members of the UCI community impacted by sexual and relationship violence via financial assistance for needs and concerns that are a direct result of power-based personal violence. These funds are valuable because they are unrestricted. This means CARE can assist with pressing and urgent concerns and that wasn’t possible prior to this support.

"Being a young woman on campus, it can be scary. A lot of the things I learned in the program today will help me feel somewhat safer when I may have to be out late/in the dark alone. I also will use the things I learned to help my friends and family also know how to keep themselves safe." (re:Assert Personal Safety & Self-Defense participant)

"I learned how important it is to make boundaries! I learned that taking a small step such as to tell someone that you don’t want them to comment on the subject that makes you uncomfortable, is a simple start to assert boundaries." (Workshop participant)

UCI CARE is committed to providing programs that have a direct impact on the quality and safety of campus life. CARE’s prevention education focuses on the elimination of power-based personal violence, emphasizing the role of respect and communication in relationships and the absence of violence, abuse and harassment. Through direct intervention services and groups, CARE impacts the mental health and functioning of students, staff, and faculty in personal, academic, and social domains. CARE staff provide training consistent with the CDC-endorsed social-ecological model, addressing factors at individual, relationship, community, and societal levels. Additionally, prevention programs span the range of primary, secondary and tertiary levels throughout the year. The model is based upon best practices learned from the fields of prevention and marketing in addition to an understanding of complex sociocultural dynamics, stressing repeated and consistent messaging. CARE incorporates an expanded framework of the social-ecological model, introduced by Farah Tanis from the Black Women’s Blueprint (CALCASA Statewide Conference, 2016). This expanded framework includes structural and historical factors to be addressed in effective prevention.

Your gift of any amount to the Student Services Fund will directly support the mission and work of the CARE office and allow us to continue providing innovative, critical and lifesaving services to the campus community and survivors of power-based personal violence. Below you can learn more about some of the ways CARE supports survivors and read examples of how your donation will be used to help.

Together, we can ensure that UCI’s students, staff and faculty have the resources and support that they need to create safe spaces and thrive. 

“Even though I still have a lot to learn and do, I am grateful for the opportunity CARE has given me. In the last few weeks, I have experienced personal growth and healing. Through my assignments and responsibilities as well as through the desire to help others, I have, myself, worked on my own healing journey. While that wasn’t my intent coming into CARE, there has been something healing about simply being at CARE, as for nearly 10 weeks, it provided me with solace, structure, discipline, and support.” (CARE Intern)