In 2017, Prevail launched the 100 Men Campaign, which aims to develop male leaders willing to stand up to oppose violence, creating a safer community in central Indiana.

According to Sara Roorbach, 100 Men Campaign coordinator and primary prevention specialist at Prevail, Prevail plans to relaunch for 2020 after a hiatus.
“100 Men has been around since 2017,” Roorbach said. “The real reason why they chose to go in this direction was mainly based on the feeling that men ha

ve kind of been left out of the conversation surrounding domestic violence (and) sexual violence. It’s always kind of been a women’s issue and we really want men to feel like they matter and that they can make a difference. In 2020, moving into next year, we are kind of revamping (the campaign). There’s going to be projects, volunteering opportunities and also integrating meeting into all this too. (There’ll be a) quarterly meeting so the guys can come together and learn different skills.”
Prevail plans to host the first event for the campaign in 2020 on April 28 at the teen literacy fair.

Roorbach said, “Within the last few years, we’ve had five major projects that have happened.”

Primary Prevention Specialist Kelly Groden said via email that the campaign’s aim is to create a safer environment.

“In the short run, 100 Men empowers men to challenge abusive, objectifyng or otherwise harmful words and behaviors,” Groden said. “This campaign sends a strong message to the community that violence is not the norm and will not be tolerated or excused. In the long run, 100 Men will create a safer community by reducing risk factors for violence. When people’s needs are met, they are significantly less likely to use violence to solve problems.”

Junior Julian Wright said via email “I think it’s a good thing. Domestic violence is a really serious issue to me that I feel like not many peo

ple pay all that attention to. If there are awareness programs like this then people will become more educated and feel more comfortable speaking out.”

In regards to the campaign Roorbach said, “It’s kind of been taboo that men aren’t effective so they don’t feel inclined to be personally invested unless it’s happened to someone they know or affected them personally in their life. We really want people to feel like this is something that you should also feel invested in… we really want to welcome them in and say, ‘No let’s actually talk about this.’”