Highlands College has welcomed the presence of Safe Space on its campus. Safe Space is Butte’s own non-profit organization whose mission is to provide assistance to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. The organization will be on the Highlands Campus every Monday from 7:30 am to 2:00 pm. Both students and community members are welcome to access Safe Space at the Highlands location.
“With the statistics of 1 in 5 women experiencing sexual violence, it is important that we become part of the solution,” said Brieanne Vermeire, Sexual Assault Specialist at Safe Space. “By offering services – advocacy, education and prevention – at Highlands College, we can help address this very serious issue.”
Safe Space, Inc. began as a grass roots movement in the early 1970's by local women to address a multitude of needs in Silver Bow County. From these grass roots efforts, the formal organization of Safe Space was created and began addressing the complex needs of survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
“We want our students to know that we are very sensitive to the fact that sexual assault impacts a significant percentage of college women,” said Dr. John M. Garic, Dean of Highlands College. “Having Safe Space on our campus will not only help our students but also will help our faculty and staff to be more aware of these issues and thereby provide further support to our students in positive and helpful ways.”
For any further information about this issue or any issue pertaining to Montana Tech or Highlands College, please contact Amanda Badovinic at 406-496-4828 or Dr. John M. Garic at 406-496-3714.