Survivor Advocacy Program moves to Lindley Hall with more space and privacy.
The Ohio University Survivor Advocacy Program settled into a new home this month, making it a more comfortable and secure space for students, faculty and staff.
OUSAP, which aims to serve as a place where victims and survivors of sexual assault and dating and domestic violence receive support through confidential resources, moved into 033 Lindley Hall on Aug. 11 from its previous location in the McKee House.
Graduate Assistant Bill Arnold said the new location is more spacious and provides more offices, which is what the McKee House lacked.
“More offices mean more distinct, confidential spaces to meet with survivors and I think that’s an obvious plus,” Arnold said. “Something about our old space was that we were sharing it with the Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program.”
OUSAP Program Coordinator Delaney Anderson said she appreciates having an entire hallway dedicated to only OUSAP and the outreach program, allowing for more security and privacy for survivors who come in to seek help.
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Arnold said OUSAP is not officially affiliated with the outreach program. He explained that the two programs were once held by grants from the OU Women’s Center, but OUSAP is no longer under the Women’s Center and is instead distinctly under the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
However, he said the two programs maintain close ties with the outreach program, as the services are complimentary.
“We serve students, faculty and staff and the outreach program serves community members,” Arnold said. “We now have our own distinct spaces, and that’s another advantage of moving from McKee to Lindley.”
Anderson said along with the additional space, the new location is housed in a campus landmark unlike McKee House.
“Lindley Hall tends to be a more recognizable location than McKee House was, so that is very helpful,” she said.
Other than the location, the program still offers the same advocacy services to victims and survivors including a 24-hour crisis line, which operates during fall and spring semesters. The crisis line can be reached at 740-597-7233.
The number also serves as the program’s office line, which welcomes questions about volunteering and is operated during business hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Such questions can also be directed toward the program’s email, survivor.advocacy@ohio.edu, which not intended for crises.
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