SARC Victim advocate Terri Presa - Here to help you through

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Lynn Aird
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Meet Terri Presa, community readiness consultant with the Airman and Family Readiness Center at Vance. She is also a victim advocate with Vance's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program. 

"Before this job I worked for family advocacy for 13 years here on base. I've always been in a social work situation," explained Ms. Presa. "Both family advocacy and the A&FRC are helping agencies. So it just felt natural for me to be involved with the SARC program as well." 

Before volunteering for the victim advocacy program at Vance, Ms. Presa was an advocate with the Enid YWCA since 1996. Regardless of her prior experience, she underwent the same training program as the other seven certified advocates on base. 

"I feel this program is important because of the relationship that you have with people that need your support and a safe environment," said Ms. Presa. "They need a person they are comfortable with to help them through a bad situation." 

The SAPR program was introduced by the Department of Defense in 2005. The Department implemented a comprehensive policy to ensure the safety, dignity and well-being of all members of the Armed Forces. 

"I think these crimes had been underreported prior to having victim advocates and the SARC program because people were fearful for their careers, and they didn't have established points of contact that they could depend on," said Ms. Presa. "I'm very proud of the Air Force for recognizing the importance of the SARC position and the fact that the victim advocates are able to help in difficult times." 

The victim advocacy program is part of the Vance community's response to sexual assault in the military. Advocates are non-judgmental and supportive, suggesting options but allowing the victim to decide what course of action to take. 

"I'm also glad for the command support here at Vance for the program," said Ms. Presa. "Committing or tolerating sexual assault is a cultural thing -- sometimes people misread cues or ignore them and get into bad situations. Thanks to the promotion of our programs by wing leadership, we've been able to bring in some marvelous guest speakers who have really been able to get the point across about how important awareness is."