TW: mentions of domestic abuse
If you have been at Coastal Carolina University for any length of time, you have surely heard of the “LiveWell office”, but you probably have no idea what they do and what services they provide. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month, so I wanted to share information about the services provided here on campus. In particular, I want to talk about Bevelyn Mitchell, the Assistant Director for Interpersonal Violence, Prevention & Services.
Bevelyn Mitchell is native to the South Carolina Lowcountry and she and her family have lived here for 23 years. She earned her undergraduate degree in Social work from South Carolina University in Orangeburg, SC, and her Master’s in Human Service with a concentration in organizational leadership from Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. When she went back to college she did so as a non-traditional student which meant that she did not live on campus, she changed her major around 3 times, and became aware that she was a survivor when she had to do an internship as a graduation requirement. While doing training at the local domestic violence center she heard a guest speaker tell an eerily familiar story. Bev had to make the choice then whether she would face her fear head-on or not go back to the center and try something else. She went back and at the end of the week, all of the volunteers and interns were offered resources and that solidified her desire to work with the center. Bev was a victim within her marriage which caused her shame and embarrassment. It was 15 years before she realized that she was a victim. She talked about her struggles with that relationship and how it has impacted her current marriage (which has celebrated 40 years) with continued PTSD and embarrassment. She continued her work with people as a hospice worker at Mercy, a social worker and case manager at CareTeam, and at the local Rape Crisis center for 14 years until she retired in November 2021. She had the opportunity to come to CCU and she works in the LiveWell office now.
But what does she do? Bev is a confidential resource on campus. Students can come to her and disclose “as little or as much as they want.” Her being a confidential resource means that she will not disclose your information to anyone (even your parents) without your explicit written consent. Other confidential services on campus are counseling services and health services. Non-confidential services include Title IX, the Dean of Students, and the Department of Public Safety, specifically the victim’s advocate coordinator Beverly Wilhelm. Another resource on campus for counseling of all kinds is TimelyCare. The best part about all of these services is that they are provided at no additional cost to students. Okay, so what if you tell a teacher what is going on and what you need assistance with? Teachers are mandated reporters but all that means is that they have to let Title IX know what happened. Title IX will only collect data and only communicates with you if you file a report. Then Bev will get notified and find out how you are doing and go from there with you. She can be with you for difficult appointments, to find where to go, and almost anything else you may need. She is even willing and able to refer you to off-campus resources (even if we have amazing counselors on campus that work in all modalities).
Bev is also a strong advocate for inclusion and diversity. She has worked with many LGBTQIA+ students and had experience at the Rape Crisis center with Pride organizations. She is active in the community and stresses the importance of the fact that interpersonal violence is interpersonal violence no matter what relationship you are in.
Doing this work and helping others who deal with the same things she did without any judgment has helped her heal as well. When talking about her past shame and embarrassment, she emphasized that “silence perpetuates silence” and that being brave can help others. You don’t have to feel alone or even be alone even if you may feel lost without choices presented to you. By doing the work and working through what you went through, you can go from being a victim to being a survivor like Bev, myself, and many others have done.
Bev stressed that she wants students to know that “they are driving the ship all the way” and she is proud to do what she does as she “wouldn’t want to do anything else” and “looks forward to coming to work.” Talking with Bev gave me insight into the many resources on campus, and the passion she has for this work and for helping people.