Activist Yassen to speak on violence, crisis internvention at ISU conference

Activist Janet Yassen, who promotes individual and social collaboration between trauma survivors and their communities, will deliver the plenary presentation “Crisis Intervention with Victims of Violence: Theory and Practice” at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Oct. in the Little Wood River Suite at Idaho State University’s Pond Student Union Building.

Yassen’s presentation is part of the ISU Kasiska College of Health Professions 2007 Idaho Conference on Health Care running Oct. 24-26.

Yassen is the crisis service coordinator for the Victims of Violence program at Cambridge Hospital in Boston where she works with both victims and perpetrators, in order to gain a broad perspective on the problems of violence and its impact on individuals and society. She has worked around the world and in such places as Israel, the former Yugoslavia, Belfast, Japan and The Hague, Netherlands.

In the 1970s, Yassen’s early activism focused on wide-ranging issues of civil rights, anti-war demonstration and the women’s movement. This led Yassen to begin working with female victims of rape and violence. In 1973 she joined the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center and helped to create a model for similar programs dealing with violence against women. She also aided in the development of the Women’s Studies program at Boston University.

“Remember,” Yassen said, “that any action toward social justice makes the world a better place.”

The conference is sponsored by the Kasiska Foundation and co-sponsored by the Idaho Public Health Association, Idaho Psychological Association, the Idaho Dairy Council, the Idaho Bioterrorism Awareness and Preparedness Program and ISU Student Affairs.

All health conference events are free to ISU students, faculty and staff. The conference evening keynote addresses are free and open to the public, but registration fees are required for the public for conference events held during the day. Continuing education units are available to professionals desiring them.

For more information on the health conference or Yassen’s presentation, visit the conference Web site at isu.edu/kchp/hlthconf, or contact the Continuing Education and Conference Services at (208) 282-3155.