There are six member centers who receive federal Rape Prevention Education (RPE) funding through a contract with LaFASA via the state health department. These centers work to prevent sexual violence from multiple angles, including increasing individual skills for healthy relationships and bystander intervention, change social norms around consent and masculinity, increase opportunities for women and marginalized communities, and create protective environments through policy change or changing the settings in which people live, work, and play. 

In the last year, two member centers have achieved success in their greening/environmental change work! Greening is a strategy used to modify the physical and social environment, to create community-level protective factors that can stop multiple forms of violence. When people feel connected, valued, and heard by their community, it makes real change.

In Thibodaux, the Haven started a Greening Task Force that worked together to identify a municipal-owned lot that would be a good candidate for a new park. They distributed a survey to community members about their hopes for a park, and community members emphasized the use of the space for youth and for job fairs and other resources. The Task Force met with the Mayor of Thibodaux and the city’s Special Projects and Economic Development Director in August to finalize the proposal for the use of the space. The city agreed to fund the Greening Task Force’s proposal for the creation of this park in 2025.

In Bogalusa, the Prevention Coordinator at ADAPT created a survey to understand community needs, which found that a streetlight had been broken for a long time. This impacted residents and their safety in an area that has high levels of foot traffic from residents who walk to school, work, and errands. The Prevention Coordinator took these concerns to the city councilwoman, Ms. Gloria Kates. In the meeting, ADAPT made the case that these neighbors’ safety concerns are important ones, and that when residents feel heard by those in power and connected to each other, it creates safer and more cohesive communities. This city councilwoman took ADAPT’s concerns (on behalf of the neighborhood) to the utility company. After the meeting between the utility company and Councilwoman Kates, the streetlight was fixed.

Defining the world we want to live in depends on us and the actions we take. Positive actions add up to change and better and safer communities. We applaud the diligence and determination of these centers and allies.