For over 30 years, Bev Moghrabi has been implementing not only educational tools to support post secondary students across Portage College’s campuses in the Lakeland region, but also creating safe spaces for students.
As the the current Vice President of Student and College Services, last month she was a recipient of the province’s annual Inspiration Awards for her contributions in raising awareness and creating programs to support individuals impacted by sexual violence.
The annual Alberta Inspiration Awards, presented by Alberta Community and Social Services, recognize individuals and organizations across the province who work towards creating not only safe spaces, but building healthy relationships in their communities.
Moghrabi was one of a ten Alberta recipients recognized with an award in one of several categories during a special ceremony in Calgary in June.
For Moghrabi, while winning the award in the Leadership in Sexual Violence category was an honour, the real recognition is for the dedicated team that has driven the program, providing front line support services, educational tools and safe spaces throughout the region since the idea began in 2015.
“I've never done the work alone, there have been many, many people that have contributed and helped all the way through the process,” she said, sharing the award with those team members as well as other local and provincial support mechanisms.
Creating support
Since 2015, Moghrabi has been leading the development of a policy plan to specifically address sexual violence in the the Lakeland region and across rural post-secondary campuses in the province. The work took off after she noticed gaps in services in rural areas for both students and community members to utilize—compared to larger cities that provide services both on and off campus, she said.
The policy plan was also co-lead by officials at Medicine Hat College, working alongside the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services (AASAS). The organizations formed an advisory committee with the colleges and has been implementing trauma services for the region to help victims, and raise awareness since 2017, said Moghrabi.
“From there, the AASAS group and I organized the Lac La Biche Region Community Advisory Group on Sexual Violence to prepare a coordinated community response plan to look at resources for the community,” she told LakelandThisWeek.
Through the policy plan, a framework to continue supporting individuals with not only counselling services but also through the legal system has helped support victims through their trauma, she added.
While working on expanding services across Portage College’s St. Paul and Cold Lake campuses, she says a partnership with DragonFly Centre in Bonnyville helped create the enhanced services—especially with the opening of services on the Lac La Biche campus, she added.
“They actually had a counsellor that also helped navigate and help people in the region through the court process also,” she added.
Leading the way
While working with different agencies, staff trained in providing trauma services and leading a provincial initiative for more than five years now, Moghrabi’s main contributions are ensuring that student trauma services are readily available across the college’s campuses.
“The main work that I've done in the area at Portage College is ensuring that we have the frontline supports to help students who are experiencing trauma,” from both sexual, domestic violence and more, she says, especially through establishing policies that can by used across any campus.
Through working with organization like AASAS, the Dragonfly Network and other supports, making positive changes across regional campus locations is growing, she said.
“I think the Province provides support and the Province recognizes that it's important to have a healthy society,” she said. “The College has a voice and we are being asked to do this work from the province,” she says explaining that the work also addresses how all genders are impacted by sexual violence.
“I am working with a group of folks from the college to look at our guidelines and make sure that it is inclusive of gender based violence also, so that it would be reflected on how we respond to it and what our expectations are for campus values and respect.”
An initiative that is vital in her work when addressing sexual violence, said Moghrabi. Additionally, understanding gender-based violence and making a space available for everyone, she added.
“It's really important to have a world where everybody has an inclusive space and that they feel valued and respected. I think that’s the work addressing gender based violence goes towards,” she said.
Working for change
With more than 30 years of experience working in post-secondary student services, Moghrabi says she’s been at the forefront of seeing the growth and acceptance of inclusive environments over the years.
While the work is not done yet, she says there are efforts everyday that are making a difference. She is proud to be part of that change, along with the other award recipients and the local support network.
“When you look at those folks and you see the work they're doing, you realize that it's a very big community, working very hard advocating to get the changes that we need in legislation and policy, and to make it a safer, more inclusive space.”
