Trauma, Addiction and Victimization: The Unspoken Cycle
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SESSION INFO

Tuesday, August 20, 2019
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Session Type: Workshop
This session will address issues related to sexual assault, trauma in the aftermath of sexual assault, addiction as a coping mechanism, and how to heal as a survivor. Participants will learn from a woman who is an adult thriving after trauma and addiction and will also gain insight and understanding on the important topic of how American teen culture impacts sexual identity and can exert pressure to engage in high-risk behaviors. The learning environment will be interactive, fun, and educational. Questions and discussion will be encouraged. Being victimized by crime can be a life-altering, traumatic experience—one that can potentially throw a person off the course of recovery and back into the throes of addiction or vice versa, leading to the adoption of negative coping mechanisms to deal with the trauma. Our justice system is just now realizing the interconnectivity of addiction, trauma, and victimization. As service professionals we must understand these cycles and their potential impact on clients. This workshop offers expert guidance for those working with victims to facilitate better understanding and help provide more well-rounded comprehensive services to clients.

SESSION PRESENTERS
Jennifer R Storm
Victim Advocate of the Commonwealth, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Office of Victim Advocate


Governor Tom Corbett nominated Jennifer Storm as Commonwealth Victim Advocate on Nov. 8, 2013, and she was confirmed by the state Senate on Dec. 10, 2013, to serve a six-year term. As Victim Advocate, she is responsible for representing the rights and interests of crime victims before the Board of Probation and Parole and the Department of Corrections and to provide notification to crime victims of the potential for inmate release, opportunity to provide testimony, and notification of the inmate’s movement within the correctional system. Further, Ms. Storm is responsible for advocating the interests of adult and juvenile crime victims throughout Pennsylvania. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Storm served for 10 ½ years as executive director of the Dauphin County Victim/Witness Assistance Program, a non-profit organization which provides direct services to victims of crime, community outreach and training in victim’s rights, and crisis response services. The author of several books and magazine articles, Ms. Storm has received numerous awards for the telling of her personal story of victimization, addiction and recovery. She has traveled the country giving keynotes, lectures, workshops, and panel discussions regarding victims’ rights, LGBT rights, addiction and recovery, and civil rights. Ms. Storm has been profiled in and interviewed for many major national media outlets including: NBC‘s The Today Show and Dateline, People Magazine, CNN, Rolling Stone Magazine, World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer, CBS 48 Hours Live to Tell, E! News, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Business Weekly, USA Today and many more. Ms. Storm currently serves on the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Victim Services Advisory Committee, PA Commission on Sentencing, Crime Victims Alliance of PA, the State Council for The Interstate Compact on Juvenile and Adult Offenders and chairs the PA Task Force on Restitution. She resides in Camp Hill PA with her wife and son.