Celebrate Local: MOCSA with Lana Franco
Welcome to my “Local Highlights” Blog! As a doula, an amazing part of my job is to not only provide my clients with the information needed for them to make informed decisions, but to connect them with professionals with the skills and knowledge to make those decisions a reality. If you have taken any of my classes, you will know that building a fully supportive birth team is at the core of my practice. There are so many, extremely unique, and wonderful people filled with passion for every step of your birth journey, right here in the KC Metro Area! Today, I would like to introduce you to one of them, Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault, or MOCSA, and their volunteer, Lana Franco.
I have had the amazing privilege of working with Lana Franco, a local teacher, KC Women’s Ministry Community Relations Coordinator, and a volunteer with MOCSA. Lana grew up as the daughter of a minister; growing up in several places, including Independence, Ohio, West Virginia, and back to Iowa until graduation. She is the loud, fun loving woman who would show up wearing socks and flip flops with a fanny pack. She is also extremely passionate about making the world a better place for those around her.
Lana’s journey started when she began to feel a pull to make her student’s lives better outside of the safety of her classroom. She worked to raise money for Million Kids, a group that works to get kids out of trafficking. She then helped preparing backpacks for women picked up for prostitution for when they were released from jail. After watching a presentation by Christine Caine, she started looking for non-profits and came across a job with MOCSA.
According to their website, MOCSA provides advocacy with “24-hour crisis lines and hospital, legal, police, and court advocacy”, free counseling services for both survivors of sexual assault and their partners, and sexual abuse prevention programs for schools, community, professional, and service industry settings. I myself was greatly moved by their mission statement: “To improve the lives of those impacted by sexual abuse and assault and prevent sexual violence in our community. We help victims become survivors.”
“And I was like, “I wanna do that!” but I didn’t have the social degree,” Lana remembered with a smile, “I just saw a lot of need out there. There are so many people with trauma without resources and as a teacher I saw the byproduct of kids that came from homes like that.” A year later, Lana met a woman that MOCSA had helped in the hospital, who shared her story about how much MOCSA’s support had meant to her and Lana became determined to volunteer there. After some more research, Lana learned that she could volunteer with MOCSA after work hours without a social degree; taking a 40hr online training followed by a full weekend of in-person training, and shadowing with another advocate. “This was before COVID!” Lana made sure to point out, “I’m not sure if they are continuing with the in-person training right now.”
Lana works with the volunteer staff at MOCSA as what she describes as victims “first point of contact,” signing up for night shifts, from 5pm-8am or on the weekends when you can sign up during the day. “You are on call and sometimes you don’t get called in, sometimes you get called in 3 or 4 times in one shift.”
Lana is there to hold the hand of a victim of sexual violence, to be there with them through their sexual assault exam, comfort them, and let them know that what happened to them wasn’t their fault. She brings a bag with toiletries, a change of clothes, and a booklet with information about shelters, work compensation, hotlines, and other resources. Lana’s passion for helping victims spilled out of her when asked about misconceptions with her work that she wants to clear up. “People think that women, because of the way that they dress or the parties that they go to, that they are somehow culpable for the horrific violation committed against them by the perpetrator. We are still dealing with the vestiges of “boys can be bad boys but that’s okay” so if something happens to a girl that is all her fault and should feel the shame.”
One of the amazing resources that MOCSA shares with the community are their fantastic presentations, sharing their knowledge with the community around them. On November 19th, MOSCA is presenting “Supporting Survivors: Sexual Assault, Trauma-Informed Care, and the role of the Doula” at an Education Workshop hosted by KC Women’s Ministry in Blue Springs, with a focus on supporting pregnant and laboring people who have survived sexual assault. “MOCSA has a great awareness of triggers for women,” Lana explained, “A sense, a touch, a smell, think about how you give birth. You are going to have someone touching their body. Being aware that there are things that can traumatize them again. Ask for permission, make them feel comfortable. That is incredibly important. They deal with shame, especially if the pregnancy is a result of the trauma.” MOCSA teaches coping strategies and grounding techniques to deal with this trauma, equipping their volunteers and attendees of their lectures.
According to RAINN, Americans are sexually assaulted every 73 seconds. So if you work in the birth world, chances are you will support at least one person who has lived through this horrific reality, weather you know it or not. If you are a doula with KCWM, who provides services for homeless and domestic violence shelters, you can almost guarantee it. We need to know how. I want to be clear, as a doula you are NOT in control of the outcomes of pregnancy and birth, including traumatic responses. It is impossible to control and should not be taken upon yourself. With that being said, as doulas it is of the utmost importance that we learn about supporting victims, doing our best to turn what could be a further traumatizing event (being pregnant and giving birth) to a healing experience.
If you want to learn more about MOCSA and get involved with the amazing work that they do, visit their website at www.mocsa.org! You can also purchase tickets for KCWM’s Enrichment Workshop, at www.KCwomensministry.org/events! They have both in-person and online options to attend.
Thank you so much for reading,
and as always, God Bless!
