Congratulations to Chrissy Cmorik, a recipient of the Molina Health Care Community Champion Award.

In addition to her work managing Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest’s Teen Success Program, which supports young mothers, Chrissy Cmorik has been a dedicated volunteer at the Center for Community Solutions (CCS) for the last eight years. She serves as a rape victim’s advocate, often called to hospitals in the early morning hours to offer support and friendship to women and men who have been sexually assaulted.

Cmorik’s gift is her ability to immediately become a person’s best friend at a time of crisis. She holds that person’s hand through medical examinations and police interviews, and explains every step of the process. Both the nurses and law enforcement officers say they greatly appreciate her presence because it helps them focus on their job of evidence collection, reporting, and medical treatment. “I’m there to make the situation a little less awful,” Cmorik explains. “I hope to take away a little bit of their pain.” She has helped women and men ranging in age from 15 to 70 years old and says her work is exhausting but extremely rewarding. She is on call most weekends and says, sadly, she is called in frequently. Cmorik notes the national statistic that one of every four women in the United States is a victim of sexual assault at some point in her life, so the need for CCS support is great. “We help rape victims with the basics like getting them clothing and helping them find a place to stay,” she says. “We explain why certain things need to be done and why questions need to be asked. The police and nurses in San Diego are exceptional and demonstrate the utmost compassion, but in very rare circumstances, we need to step in and educate people about how a question might be perceived as judgmental, even though that is absolutely not their intent.” The fact that San Diego has a very high reporting rate is a testament the great work of the police department and medical professionals in our city, she says.

In order to become a rape victim’s advocate, Cmorik completed 60 hours of training, plus she must take continuing education each year to maintain her certification. Because of her dedication and compassion, hundreds of rape victims have an advocate by their side when they need it most.

As the Education Outreach Program Manager at Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest (PPPSW), Cmorik is one of the leaders of the Teen Success Program, which provides education and support for teen mothers. The program provides information about reproductive and sexual health while also offering practical life skills training, such as resume writing and career development. “Chrissy is able to connect with the young women in the program in a way is that is authentic and yet highly effective,” says Nora Vargas, Vice President of Community Engagement at PPPSW. “We are so proud of Chrissy’s work both for Planned Parenthood and the Center for Community Solutions.”