Dear Editor,

I wish to share my role on the UW-Platteville campus. My name is Paula Schoenberg. I am the Sexual Violence Victim’s Advocate on the UW-Platteville campus and am employed by work for Family Advocates. Family Advocates is a victim service agency working with those who have, or are being, abused.

My office is located in Royce Hall in the Counseling Department on the second floor. My job is to help with crisis intervention, advocacy and support for survivors of sexual violence and intimate partner violence. Like the counselors, I am not a mandated reporter, meaning you can come to me about your experience and talk through the next steps for a survivor to heal. This may be going to law enforcement and/or the Dean of Students to report, seek medical services or to talk about how it has or is affecting the survivor’s life. The choice is theirs. My contact number is 608-778-9802. Call, text or email at [email protected].

I facilitate a support group called Artfully Surviving Sexual Violence on Mondays at 4 p.m. This group meets in my office in Royce Hall. We do a craft project while we talk about a topic or talk about what the individuals want to talk about on that day.

I think it is important to have a genuine regard for the survivor’s needs to help them heal; they know themselves the best and need to take control back in their lives.

Family Advocates’ services are free, non-judgmental and confidential. We have a 24-hour hotline and on-call advocates 24 hours a day at 800-924-2624.

Sincerely,
Paula Schoenberg
Sexual Violence Victim’s Advocate