Blog

July 31, 2018 Written by Robyn Guzik, SART/CART Advocate Grounding - what is it? Grounding is a type of coping strategy that is intended to bring a sense of stability and safety to someone who is experiencing stress and anxiety. This method works by connecting you with the current moment, the now. Grounding methods often use any or all of the five senses. The five senses are sight, touch, smell, sound, and taste. You can use any combination of these five senses to become “grounded.” Grounding Ex...

May 10, 2023 We are so thankful for all of our supporters who showed up to celebrate the Monterey County Rape Crisis Center’s 50th birthday at the Together with Love Dinner!  In the 1950s and 1960s, women who were involved in the civil rights movement talked to each other about their experiences of discrimination, domestic violence, and sexual assault. These women realized more and more that what they were experiencing as individuals was actually something women were experiencing collective...

June 26, 2018 Written by Martamaria Rosado, Crisis Services Manager How many times have you heard or laughed at a joke (intentionally or not) about what happens when you drop the soap in prison? See a movie that references a similar joke? How often do you see someone being cat-called while walking down the street? This is rape culture. Rape culture is not often what’s at the forefront of our minds. However, it is constantly present in our lives. It is an environment in which rape is prevalent an...

MCRCC’s Prevention Education team has been hard at work finding ways to engage our youth and creating spaces for them to be seen and heard. Recently, with the help of a new grant from the California Department of Public Health and in partnership with The Epicenter, the team has found an ambitious new way to support the county’s proactive youth. We are excited to introduce the Monterey County Youth Coalition for Gender Equity (MCYCGE). This coalition will be composed of high school students from...

December 9, 2022 Dear Community, With heavy hearts, we announce that the Monterey County Rape Crisis Center (MCRCC)’s annual Together with Love (TWL) 5/10K Run and Walk will not be taking place again in 2023. It was not an easy decision to make, and we ourselves are sad to see the TWL race go.  A lot of careful thought and discussion led our fundraising team (made up of staff, Board Members, and community members) to the decision not to continue our beloved race, but to instead focus our ef...

Nov. 9, 2020 I was inspired to volunteer with Monterey County Rape Crisis Center and become a certified advocate because of my own experience with sexual assault in college. After I was assaulted, I was fortunate enough to be directed by my university's health center to our resource center for survivors, where I received information on reporting as well as counseling. This counseling literally saved my life and allowed me to finish my college education.  When I moved back to my hometown of...

October 7, 2022 Bianca Hernandez, Community Engagement Specialist One evening, 5 year old “Adrian” explained to his mother, Sarah, that something strange had happened to him while at his summer daycare that he attended at his next door neighbor’s home. His mother listened as Adrian recounted how at his daycare an adult made him feel uncomfortable with what he was saying and also doing to him. Sarah listened in disbelief and reported it right away to local law enforcement, since what Adrian was r...

November 30, 2022 The Monterey County Rape Crisis Center's new Salinas office is here! We held our open house on November 16, 2022 where advocates, volunteers, community partners and supporters toured our warm and inviting space. The space is located in downtown Salinas close to different agencies and resources like the courthouse and public transportation. This forever home is meant to serve survivors from all throughout Monterey County but specifically survivors in Salinas and South County. MC...

April 30, 2020 by Robyn Guzik, Community Engagement Specialist You see, wearing denim on Denim Day is actually an act of protest. It’s a protest against harmful attitudes about sexual violence. In fact, Denim Day started as a global response to a 1999 Italian Supreme Court decision to overturn a rape conviction because the survivor was wearing tight jeans. The Court overturned the conviction because, since the survivor was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped remove them, therefore the act...

January 1, 2021 Pictured: MCRCC's new Executive Director Lauren DaSilva (left) with Clare Mounteer (right) MCRCC’s fearless Executive Director of 34 years, Clare Mounteer, leads by the example of her abundant compassion, dependability, understanding, flexibility, skill, and steadfast commitment to survivors of sexual violence; and it is with a heavy heart and much joy for her that MCRCC Staff wish her an absolutely amazing retirement in the new year. For the last seven years, Clare has been my b...

Originally published on our blog on April 11, 2018. Taken from an article written by Corrina Zandakis, our CSUMB Campus Advocate 1 in 2 women and 1 in 6 men will experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. Many will never report their assault to anyone. For those that do decide to share, the person they first tell is most often a friend or other trusted person.  That first experience of sharing what has happened can be one of the most important moments in a survivor’s healing...