Alyssa Jacobs

In Upstate NY, Alyssa worked at Willow Domestic Violence Center where she provided advocacy and support for survivors of interpersonal violence. She provided crisis-intervention on the 24-hour hotline, case management for shelter residents, and then assumed the role of Mobile Advocate. As Mobile Advocate, she primarily supported the Court Advocacy Program, the HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy and Law) collaborative at the University of Rochester Medical Center and the human trafficking program with support of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

After filling several roles at Willow, Alyssa shifted from working with adult survivors of interpersonal violence to working on investigations involving crimes against children at Bivona Child Advocacy Center. She served on a multidisciplinary team and became certified as a Forensic Interviewer for cases regarding child sexual abuse, severe physical abuse, witness to crimes, and internet crimes against children (ICAC). 
   
Throughout her various positions, Alyssa remained actively engaged with the Deaf community in Rochester, NY. With her passion and understanding of Deaf culture and American Sign Language, she was able to provide support and advocacy for Deaf and Hard of Hearing clients who had been impacted by interpersonal violence. She was compelled to raise awareness about the effects of abuse within the Deaf community and the importance of language accessibility.