Aprendiendo Lecciones

del Arte de Sobrevivir

Change through awareness and support.

Providing support to survivors of sexual assault through self-expression, peer support groups, and community awareness.

Aprendiendo Lecciones del Arte de Sobrevivir (Learning Lessons on the Art of Survival) is a Promotora (Community Health Worker)-led program that aims to establish a network of peer support for Latino(a) survivors of sexual assault and offers participants opportunities to share their experiences and perspectives with other survivors. Promotoras also provide participants with information about local resources they can access for help. Promotoras are well suited to address the sensitive topic of sexual assault because they are from the community they serve, allowing them to earn the trust and respect of program participants. 

Promotoras lead group discussions that are culturally and linguistically appropriate and can provide a safe space where participants are free to express themselves artistically and without fear of judgment. They also conduct outreach and refer individuals for additional services.  Our partners, the YWCA HOPE Center, Crime Victim Services and the Center for Children and Family Advocacy in Ohio, the Victim Service Center of Central Florida, Inc., the Women Together Foundation, the Starr County Crime Victim Unit and the Rio Grande Valley Empowerment Zone in Texas, provide counseling services to individuals needing further support. 

Aprendiendo Lecciones del Arte de Sobrevivir also identifies local leaders in the community to help with all aspects of the program. These leaders are recruited and trained to discuss sexual assault with others. They are helpful at addressing and raising awareness about sexual assault from within the community itself.  

Aprendiendo Lecciones del Arte de Sobrevivir is active in Lucas, Fulton, Sandusky and Putnam Counties in Ohio, Orange County in Florida and Starr County in Texas. 

A woman putting a bow on a present

The program aims to establish a network of peer support for Latino(a) survivors of sexual assault and offers participants opportunities to share their experiences and perspectives with other survivors. 

The program began October 2016 and will conclude in September 2019 in Texas and Ohio. In Florida, the program is scheduled to run until September 2020.

In Ohio, this program is funded through the Ohio Department of Health.

This project was supported by subgrant No. 099600325A0117 awarded by the state administering office for the SASP Formula Grant Program. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the state of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

Texas

This project was supported by Grant No. 2016-WR-AX-0040 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the state or the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

In Florida this program is supported by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC).

For more information on this program, please contact us.