On Aug. 7, Ohio University alumna Kat Wargo ’03 and ’04 took on the newly created position of program outreach coordinator for the Ohio University Survivor Advocacy Program (OUSAP) for Meigs and Perry counties, which is funded by a grant from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office as part of the Victims of Crime Act.
Kat Wargo. Photograph by Elizabeth Held
“We hope that at the end of the two-year grant period, we will have established community response teams in both of those counties and have a system of services in place that will catch a victim when they experience trauma and really make a difference in the lives of women and men who are victims,” said Women’s Center Director Susanne Dietzel.
Wargo earned a B.A. in Social Work in 2003 and a B.A. in Psychology in 2004 Ohio University. Since then she has worked in domestic violence shelters, the court system, and in a hospital helping victims of sexual assault. She also worked as a grants administrator who requests funding for domestic violence survivors.
In her new position as the program coordinator for OUSAP Meigs and Perry counties—underserved communities where there are currently no services for someone who has been sexually assaulted—Wargo will concentrate on creating a coordinated and collaborative community response to sexual violence.
This means involving and educating town leaders, members of the religious community, law enforcement, medical personnel as well as ordinary residents in the effort so that “everybody [has] a voice when it comes to sexual violence,” Wargo said.
Through trainings for those working with survivors of sexual assault and sexual abuse, Wargo will work to define a support system. Survivor services she will implement include a crisis hotline and medical and legal companions to aid in navigating hospitals and the legal system.
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