The Center’s goal in partnering with the University to implement Bringing in the Bystander was to address this gap in prevention education and support their ongoing commitment to creating a safer, more informed campus. Several offices played a critical role in the implementation of Bringing in the Bystander → the Title IX Office expressed interest in strengthening prevention education and contracted with Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault, the Office of Access and Equity promoted Bringing in the Bystander through multiple campus communications, and the Center equipped students and staff with practical tools to recognize, intervene, and prevent sexual and relationship violence through the training. 

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We all belong to different ecosystems – small, medium, or large, each have tremendous effects on our person. It can be as small as the four walls we share with our roommates, medium-sized like a college or university, or as large as the region we share with millions of other people.  As a community-based organization, building partnerships with local campuses creates a framework for prevention efforts that break silos and strengthen the positive norms in and across the ecosystems within which we live, work, and play. Although Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault had worked with student groups through isolated events in the past, this was the first time a direct collaboration between the University’s Title IX and Office of Access and Equity had been established. For primary prevention efforts to sustain, buy-in from all stakeholders in the community are essential. In the higher education ecosystem, a program without investment from those in positions of power has little chance of effecting change that outlasts staff and student turnover. This model demonstrates that prevention doesn’t have to – and quite honestly, cannot – happen in isolation. When nonprofits collaborate with local schools, colleges, or universities, they amplify their community-level impact while helping campuses meet federal and state prevention education requirements. These partnerships distribute responsibility for culture change across multiple layers of the community, giving every person a role in the prevention ecosystem.  

The collaboration between Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault and the University of Illinois highlights the importance of private/public partnerships that work toward a public health goal larger than the University or the Center alone. It merges their communities together under one common goal. It unburdened the University from having to research, design, customize, implement, and evaluate a bystander intervention program that is evidence-based and customizable to the unique needs of their community. Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault’s staff are already trauma-informed, impassioned, trained facilitators of Bringing in the Bystander, and well-resourced to implement the training with local campuses. The Center was able to extend the reach of their organization’s services to an academic institution while tailoring sexual assault prevention education to the needs of college students. As a result of this collaboration, the University has expressed an earnest desire to collaborate on survivor-centered support initiatives, prevention programming, and additional training. 

Students can often feel isolated and in their own “bubble” while attending college or university, having little to no interaction with the outside world apart from the occasional restaurant, bar, or nightclub. A collaboration of this nature not only positively impacts the prevention education of the entire campus community, but opens doors to further engagement, establishes trust, and promotes mutuality between a community organization and the students who live and learn in central Illinois → creating a strong ecosystem that is made more resilient and diverse by engaging in knowledge sharing, information exchange, and prevention education that is sustainable. 

Bringing in the Bystander isn’t just for campuses to deliver—it’s a student-based program that community organizations can bring to life through partnerships with local colleges and universities. Nonprofits across the country can follow Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault’s example to build strong, mutually beneficial partnerships with local colleges and high schools, extending prevention beyond institutional walls and fostering safer, more connected communities. If your organization is ready to strengthen local prevention efforts and build campus partnerships, Soteria Solutions can help. Connect with us at info@soteriasolutions.org to learn how your nonprofit can license and deliver Bringing in the Bystander® in your community.