Spotlight on Student Organizers-Micah from The PEARS Project

<p>Spotlight on Student Organizers is a series of conversations with students who are community builders, change leaders, advocates, and community carers. In the fourth and last instalment of the series, Muzna chats with Micah Kalisch, founder and director of the Prevention Empowerment Advocacy Response Project (PEARS) for survivors at the University of Toronto.  Micah shares their experience creating a peer-led, grassroots support organization while still an undergraduate student, the need to be nimble and responsive in this work, and the compelling reasons she is called to create a community of care and support for survivors. </p><p>This episode comes with a content warning. In this conversation we talk about sexual assault and abuse, which we know can be distressing topics. We offer this content warning to empower you, our audience,  to make healthy decisions about how, and if, you should consume this podcast content. Please take care.</p><p>Micah is a fourth year undergraduate student doing a specialist in gender studies, a major in sociology, and a minor in equity studies. They have been doing survivor advocacy work for over half a decade and are the founder and director of The PEARS Project.</p><p>Heartfelt thanks to Micah for sharing their story, and for all the amazing work you do.</p><p>To learn more about the PEARS Project follow them on instagram <a href="" target="_blank">@thepearsproject </a></p><p><strong>Safety and Support Resources</strong></p><p>If you or anyone you know needs support around experiencing sexual or gender-based violence, Visit <a href="https://safety.utoronto.ca/">safety.utoronto.ca</a> for a list of safety resources, or reach out to one the organizations listed below. </p><p><strong>Other Community Resources </strong></p><p><a href="https://cmhapeeldufferin.ca/programs/24-7-crisis-support-peel/"><strong>24/7 Crisis Support Peel</strong></a></p><p>905-278-9036</p><p><a href="https://www.awhl.org/contact-us"><strong>Assaulted Women’s Helpline</strong></a></p><p>1-800-863-0511</p><p