NEWS
Within Reach Campaign | March 21, 2018
Family Tragedy, Punk Music, and the WCA’s Front Desk
An Interview with WCA Champion,
Cory Garlock
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Cory is a volunteer at the WCA. He’s a traveler, runner,
sci-fi nerd, and a fan of 90s punk.
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HOW ARE YOU CONNECTED TO THE WCA?
My original association with the organization was through my job at RBC Wealth Management. I’m a Senior Investment Associate, or as I call it, the quarterback of people’s financial lives. We work with the WCA professionally. And now I’m also a front desk volunteer. Every Tuesday, I check clients in and make sure they feel comfortable until their classes start, specifically, the Empowerment Class.
WHY DID YOU START VOLUNTEERING WITH THE WCA?
I have a special concern for survivors of domestic violence because my aunt was killed by her abuser in 1986. I was born in 1990 so it was before I was born, but domestic violence has shaped my family. It’s affected us in a way such that we haven’t really talked about it much.
The thing that actually stirred me to volunteer was reading about punk music in the 90s and especially the Riot Grrrls. The punk movement was hyper violent toward women and girls at that time, to the point that they needed a DIY sub-culture of their own. Reading these stories of talented women in abusive relationships; it personalized it even more. When you read statistics it’s rather general and obscure, but these stories about survivors of violence just made me want to stand up and do something about it.
WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WISH MORE PEOPLE KNEW?
Through volunteering at the WCA, I’ve learned how prone we are to blaming the victim. There are typical questions like, “What was she wearing when this happened?” and “Why do survivors stay with their abusers?” Those types of questions are a form of victim blaming that I didn’t understand before. Implicit in these lines of questioning is that it’s their fault for staying.
In my Aunt Jill’s case, she had left her abuser before he murdered her. But our family has heard those same types of victim-blaming questions. It’s actually very unsafe for survivors to leave their abusers. That’s something else that people should know. [Note: the WCA helps clients to create safety plans, which are unique to each client.]
WHAT’S SOMETHING YOU WISH WOULD CHANGE?
In the past domestic violence and sexual assault has been lumped in as a women’s issue, but in fact it’s a community issue. I think that labeling it as a women’s issue has allowed for men to be complacent about it. I’d like people to know, especially men, that 90% of sex assault survivors are women. And for a single victim, 99% of sex offenders are male. It’s our job as men to re-evaluate our stance when it comes to this. We have to do our part to hold other men accountable.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE WCA’S NEW LOCATION?
I am partial to the new front desk set up—that’s where I hang out! The current space at 29th and Farnam has a lot of windows at the entry, and you can see right in; so it’s not very private. At the new location (3801 Harney Street), the check-in will be so much more secure, quiet and, confidential. Survivors won’t have to worry about anything that’s going on outside or wonder if a coworker, family member, or their abuser can see them from the street.
WHEN WE SAY THE WCA IS WITHIN REACH,
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?
The main thing is just being able to be that helping hand in emergency situations where the first step is getting to safety. But beyond that, it’s providing the services like financial wellness programs, empowerment classes, trauma sensitive yoga, all these services so that whenever any survivor needs our help, the WCA is right next to them ready to help.
Interested in volunteering with us? Go to the Volunteer page to take the first step.
