idealist.org

My name is Cathy Mendonca and I volunteer as an English tutor and family mentor with the International Rescue Committee in San Diego. I had the honor of working with a courageous yet serene mother of four. Overcoming formidable disaster with only faith blessing her with the endurance to survive, she relocated to the United States for a chance at a better life for both her and her family. As her tutor, I am blessed having the opportunity help her in any way i possibly can. I view her, as a survivor, and the journey which she will travel beginning her new life here in the United States, will be behind her every step of the way. I first had an interest in mentoring while training to become a SART Advocate with at the Center for Community Solutions. There, Sexual Assault Response Team Advocate Volunteers work as an interdisciplinary team with emergency room staff, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) and police officers to respond to survivors in the hospital or at designated SART forensic labs. The volunteer's role includes providing crisis intervention to the survivor and to any non-offending family member(s) about sexual assault, counceling during evidence collection and providing information about social, health and legal resources. I am very passionate about what i do and why i help. Life is all about going forward after tragety for that's the only time we will find how strong we really are.

other interests: involved in regional, touring and community theatre: some previous roles included Polaroid Stories: Eurydice, The Room: Mrs. Sands, Love's Fire: Hydraulics Phat Like Mean: Woman Player, 140: Jackie, Waiting for Phillip Glass: Rina, The General of Hot Desire: Jennifer/Eve, Perishable Theatre's 11th Annual International Women's Play Writing Festival