Start By Believing
Start By Believing
Each April, during National Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Awareness Month, Community Works hosts a ‘Start By Believing’ event that invites our community to listen with compassion and respond with belief. Choosing to believe survivors is often the first—and most powerful—step toward healing and recovery.
Join us on Thursday, April 9th, as we learn about how sexual assault affects the youth in our community.
Believing Changes Everything.
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When a survivor finds the courage to speak, the first response matters. The “Start by Believing” Community Event brings together advocates, law enforcement, and community members to learn how we can respond with compassion, support survivors, and strengthen our community’s commitment to safety and healing.
Community Works invites our community to attend the annual “Start by Believing” Community Event. This event brings together advocates, law enforcement professionals, educators, and community members to learn, listen, and take meaningful steps toward creating a culture of belief, safety, and support for survivors—especially children and teens in Southern Oregon.
Seating is Limited, to Reserve Your Place Email:
emcewen@community-works.org
In our keynote presentation and panel discussion featuring local experts from across Jackson County, participants will gain insight into the realities facing minor victims, the legal and advocacy systems that support them, and the resources available to help survivors begin their path toward healing. This event provides an opportunity to learn directly from professionals working on the front lines of victim advocacy, law enforcement, and child protection.
By hosting “Start by Believing,” Community Works continues its commitment to fostering a trauma-informed, victim-centered community—one where survivors are met with compassion, dignity, and belief from the very first moment they speak. Together, we can help build a safer community where every survivor is heard, supported, and empowered.
The 2026 Start by Believing Community Event will take place on Thursday, April 9, from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM at the Phoenix Plaza Civic Center, 220 N. Main St. in Phoenix, Oregon. The program will feature keynote speaker Jessica Mindlin, an Oregon-based attorney and advocate specializing in victim rights, along with a panel of Jackson County experts representing law enforcement, child advocacy, and survivor services. A light lunch will be provided, and seating is limited. Guests are encouraged to RSVP as seating is limited. RSVP no later than April 6th.
To RSVP email: emcewen@community-works.org
For questions or information call 541.773.2393