Healing Hearts virtual support group launching for U of T’s survivors of sexual violence
COVID-19 restrictions may be preventing in-person meetings, but the Tri-Campus Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre (SVPS) wants survivors to know support is still available.
On Tuesday, Sept. 28, the centre is launching its first virtual support group. Titled Healing Hearts, it is specifically for survivors of sexual violence. The group is open to all genders, and all members of the University of Toronto community.
“Survivors were coming to us saying they wanted a regular support group that was not just individual appointments, or referrals,” says Paula Lam, a sexual violence prevention and response co-ordinator at the UTM location of the SVPS Centre. “Before, we would refer them out (to external groups), but we wanted to have that community of care within U of T, to say, ‘You’re not alone, we believe you, we support you.’”
The centre helps U of T students, staff and faculty affected by sexual violence or harassment access counselling, medical services, academic or workplace accommodations, financial aid and legal aid.
Lam, who was previously a crisis line counsellor at the Assaulted Women’s Helpline, has been with the centre since it opened in 2017 and is helping co-ordinate the new support group.
“Each session will have an educational component,” she says. “Then there will also be a discussion and an activity focused on wellness.”
The scheduled topics include Consent & Self-Compassion (Sept. 28), Healthy Relationships & Boundaries (Oct. 12), Intimacy After Trauma (Nov. 9) and Coping & Self-Care (Dec. 7).
Lam says sessions will run throughout the academic year and attendance at each meeting is welcome, but not mandatory. Those who register at least a week in advance will be sent a kit of self-care resources and supplies for group activities, including letter writing, origami and painting.
Meetings will be held on Zoom from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Lam says the centre will use the online group as a pilot to gauge demand and determine how often participants would prefer to meet and which topics they want to discuss.
“This will help us build awareness,” she says. “Then, when we are able to do in-person again, we will do it in person, on all three campuses.”
Several registrants have actually expressed a preference for the online format.
“People are liking the virtual nature of it, they can join with whatever name they want,” Lam says. “It lets them be a bit more anonymous.”
Although the school year has just begun, Lam says the centre has already been busy with requests for service.
“A lot of people reach out in August in anticipation for September, they need support during the academic year, either because something recently happened, or they’re dealing with the impacts of something that happened in their past,” she says. “They are often proactively looking for support before they need it, they want to connect.”
Centre staff can receive disclosures and provide options for formal reports to the University, but Lam emphasizes accessing centre services does not automatically initiate a report to university or police.
“People can share if they want, but we would never say, ‘What’s your story?’” she says. “We want survivors to feel safe to attend, and know that we are here to support them.”
There is a physical centre on each of U of T’s campuses:
- Mississauga: Davis Building, Room 3094G
- St. George campus: Gerstein Science Information Centre (Gerstein Library), Suite B139
- Scarborough: Environmental Science & Chemistry Building, EV141
The centres are open Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For services, e-mail svpscentre@utoronto.ca or call 416-978-2266 to leave a voicemail and request an appointment.
For more information, visit https://www.svpscentre.utoronto.ca/ or http://safety.utoronto.ca/.