November 13, 2023

To broaden the vision of Monterey County Rape Crisis Center, the Community Engagement (CE) Team is always ready to step out into the community. Monterey County is no small county and the CE Team has specialized members that connect with the various higher education institutions, different organizations and nonprofits, businesses, and community partners to present information about our services or other important conversations and training, inform them of awareness campaigns and table at events hosted within the community. Each specialized member brings a caring touch to spreading MCRCC’s vision and mission. The team consists of Bianca Hernandez, Desteney Garcia, Gracie Garcia and Lorelei Ahlemeyer. As Monterey County Gives kicks off, read along how our Community Engagement team continues to work hard and how your donation keeps our presence strong in Monterey County.

Bianca Hernandez is our Community Engagement Director! Bianca is an eager educator with a passion to advocate for sexual assault survivors here in Monterey County. She understands the collective power of being informed about what your community has to offer. In her own words, “I always strive to make sure folks are informed about the resources we have in our community. The way I do this in my role as Community Engagement Director is making sure we are out in the community sharing MCRCC's mission and services. I feel very proud that I have team members who also believe in this, ready to give a presentation after hours, attending tabling events on the weekends, rain or shine, driving an hour away, we want to make sure folks in our community know that MCRCC is here for them. Your donation via MC Gives makes all of this possible!”

Desteney Garcia is our Human Trafficking Specialist. As a Monterey County native, she understands the importance of intersectionality when it comes to serving this population. She brings forth the knowledge she learned while getting her B.A. in Human Development and Family Studies from Cal State University Monterey Bay to create a more inclusive and humanistic approach when talking about the different forms of Human Trafficking. “I feel so lucky to be a part of the CE Team! It is a wonderful feeling being able to connect with members of the community at tabling events and being able to share the ways we can all be supportive towards survivors. Your donation via MC Gives supports us in being able to have these important conversations and materials bout child abuse, sexual violence, and human trafficking! No one has to be alone, and I am very happy we have the Monterey County Rape Crisis Center and its generous donors to offer support to survivors during any and all stages of their healing journey.”

Lorelei Ahlemeyer is our Campus Advocate. A compassionate advocate for Sexual Assault survivors, Lorelei brings her empathy and comprehension to helping survivors at Cal State University Monterey Bay. Because of her Bachelor's of Science in Criminal justice and Master’s in education of Clinical Mental Health Counseling she is well versed in the emotional process that comes with informing a student survivor of their rights and resources. In her own words, "As the Campus Advocate, I always want to make sure that campus survivors know the resources that are available to them on campus and at MCRCC. I want them to feel like they are connected, supported and have the appropriate help when going through something difficult.  There have been times when I have needed someone in the most difficult times of my life, and I hope to be there as a light for others when they are going through so much darkness." Your donation via MC Gives helps MCRCC have those advocates ready to support survivors in those difficult moments!

Gracie Garcia is our Community Engagement Specialist. Gracie brings a “can-do” attitude to reaching and informing all Monterey County residents of MCRCC’s services. Gracie understands that to reach a population one should be flexible in the accommodation of this diverse community’s needs, whether attending local events or making sure we have bilingual materials to share with individuals. Gracie hopes to emphasize communication with local residents, organizations, businesses, and community partners in order to reach more of our growing community and promote awareness of MCRCC’s services. “Because of how expansive this county is, I understand the need for equity in communicating and providing support for local resources. Stepping into this new role of community engagement specialist has given me a new set of optimistic goals. One of those is creating more engagement with South County cities.” Your MC Gives donation this year will help us reach and communicate even more with our South County cities and people in 2024!