The SPOT: A Place to Talk
(Posted September 23, 2016)
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There’s a new place on campus that is starting to take shape. The SPOT, which stands for a Safe Place to Talk, is somewhere where people can do just that. The SPOT is located just outside of the Baker Refectory exit. It is also home to Jody Althouse, director of violence prevention. She started working at Juniata College last winter, and soon after that she developed the SPOT.
In order to create the SPOT, Althouse formed focus groups with students to determine what they wanted the program to center on. “The students said, ‘if it’s something at Juniata, it must have an acronym. Everything here has an acronym.” The students in the focus group came up with a few different names, and The SPOT is what students on campus voted for.
“The SPOT is funded through the Department of Justice Grant that Juniata received last year. It’s a grant to reduce and prevent intrapersonal violence on campus, which would be dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking,” said Althouse. There are only 35 of these grants across the country.
Part of what makes the SPOT special is that it is one of very few where things discussed can remain confidential (with the exception of threats to do harm to oneself or others). “It’s a place where any student, faculty, or staff member can come for resources and help on an intrapersonal violent crime,” said Althouse.
“When a student or staff member comes to me, I just say ‘have a seat, and tell me your story; it’s your story to tell. Tell me as much or as little as you want to tell.’ And then after they tell their story, I say, ‘now rewrite the ending to your story.” Althouse said. “And after they tell me how they want it to end, I’ll give them resources and options. And it’s totally up to them as to what they want to do.”
The SPOT has partnered with Huntingdon House, which is a local center for victims of domestic abuse, and several law offices in the area.
“Juniata is such a unique place,” Althouse said. “The faculty, the staff and the administration are so supportive, and the students are so open. I think the timing was just right for them.” Thanks to the work Althouse is doing in The SPOT, people on campus who need their problems to be heard have another valuable resource at their disposal.
Alex Webb, Juniata Online Journalist
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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.