The Consent Chronicles: Recent Episodes
Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services
All things consent, provided by Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services. We do cover sensitive topics, please take good care while listening.
Welcome to The Consent Chronicles — a space where our collective of Prevention Educators at Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services (SAPARS) come together for real, grounded conversations about consent.
We serve Androscoggin, Oxford, and Franklin Counties in Maine. With this podcast, we want to share trauma-informed, survivor-centered information in a way that’s easy to understand and honest. Consent can be a complicated topic, and sometimes it feels heavy—but we’re here to talk about it openly and thoughtfully, without making it more stressful than it needs to be. Our goal is to keep things real and approachable while respecting the importance of the conversation.
We also want to honor that these conversations can bring up big feelings. Please take care of yourself while listening. If you need support at any time, the Maine Sexual Assault Helpline is available 24/7 at 1-800-871-7741. Outside of Maine, you can reach the National Sexual Assault Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You’re not alone.
On this episode...
Ever wonder what it’s really like behind the scenes at Maine Family Planning — and how it connects to survivor support in our community? On this episode of The Consent Chronicles, we chat with Victor about a day in their life, the services MFP provides, and the powerful impact of accessible, compassionate care.
We explore reproductive and sexual health, community support, and how organizations like MFP and SAPARS work together to meet people where they are, provide critical resources, and help survivors and community members build safer, healthier lives. Full of insight, real stories, and inspiration, this conversation shows why supporting each other matters — and why care, advocacy, and consent go hand in hand. Tune in and see how everyday work can make a world of difference.
Both Maine Family Planning and SAPARS have capital campaigns underway to support these vital community resources, you can donate here:
SAPARS Road to 100K: sapars.org/donate
Maine Family Planning: mainefamilyplanning.org/donate
Thanks for listening!
Would you like to be a guest or sponsor an episode-to include a short commercial break? Contact Heather at heather.turner@sapars.org.
Support the show
Sponsor an episode(s) of our podcast, to include a small commercial interlude, please reach out to Heather at heather.turner@sapars.org
Music Credits:
Intro/Outro Music: WaterFall by RomanSenykMusic
Welcome to The Consent Chronicles, a discussion with our collective of Prevention Educators at Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services. Our agency serves Androscoggin, Oxford, and Franklin Counties in Maine. The intent of our productions is to provide trauma informed information and conversation around the topic of consent.
We recognize that this can be a sensitive topic, so we ask that you take good care of yourself while listening and taking in the conversation. If you are in need of help or someone to talk to at any time the Maine helpline is available at 1-800-871-7741. If you are outside of Maine and need to talk, please contact the national sexual assault helpline at 800.656.HOPE (4673).
In this episode, we chat with our very own Executive Director, Meg Hatch. -Meg has overall strategic and operational responsibility for SAPARS staff and programs. She is also responsible for executing SAPARS mission and ensuring the sustainability of the organization. Meg loves supporting the board and staff in the critical work that SAPARS does in our communities. When she isn't working, Meg enjoys spending time outside (running, hiking, swimming, camping, kayaking, and going to the coast) and being with friends and family.
Heather sort of jokingly titled this podcast “What is pissing Meg off today?” and we feel like I should provide our listeners some context behind that.
One quality of our Director is her ability to filter out “Noise” and provide perspective. Personally, I’m a bit of a hyper-focusing person and can get stuck and mad. Meg is either or both- a duck, in that a lot just rolls off and/or she’s just really good at not allowing us to worry until we actually have something to worry about. She also doesn’t get too fired up unless it’s really worthy of getting fired up about.
Because of these qualities- we thought it would be a great idea to sort of collect within a conversation- What is pissing Meg off today- highlighting today, because the world changes rapidly and this answer might change tomorrow.
Tune in to see what has Meg fired up.
Support the show
Sponsor an episode(s) of our podcast, to include a small commercial interlude, please reach out to Heather at heather.turner@sapars.org
Music Credits:
Intro/Outro Music: WaterFall by RomanSenykMusic
Welcome to The Consent Chronicles, a discussion with our collective of Prevention Educators at Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services. Our agency serves Androscoggin, Oxford, and Franklin Counties in Maine. The intent of our productions is to provide trauma informed information and conversation around the topic of consent.
We recognize that this can be a sensitive topic, so we ask that you take good care of yourself while listening and taking in the conversation. If you are in need of help or someone to talk to at any time the Maine helpline is available at 1-800-871-7741. If you are outside of Maine and need to talk, please contact the national sexual assault helpline at 800.656.HOPE (4673).
It’s a wrap on Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2025, and in this episode, Heather and Molly sit down for a heart-to-heart debrief on everything that made this April unforgettable.
From BBQ fundraisers, tip jar love, and drink collabs to powerful survivor-centered conversations, we’re recapping the joy, the impact, and the overwhelming community care that showed up in full force.
This isn’t just a recap — it’s a celebration of the radical power of showing up, the magic of small-town support, and the ways we carry this work forward every day of the year.
Spoiler: We chat GOLF too! Register here for our June Golf Tourney: https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/3rd-annual-all-in-fore-survivors-golf-tournament
👉 Tune in wherever you get your podcasts — and let’s hold on to this momentum together.
Support the show
Sponsor an episode(s) of our podcast, to include a small commercial interlude, please reach out to Heather at heather.turner@sapars.org
Music Credits:
Intro/Outro Music: WaterFall by RomanSenykMusic
Welcome to The Consent Chronicles, a discussion with our collective of Prevention Educators at Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services. Our agency serves Androscoggin, Oxford, and Franklin Counties in Maine. The intent of our productions is to provide trauma informed information and conversation around the topic of consent.
We recognize that this can be a sensitive topic, so we ask that you take good care of yourself while listening and taking in the conversation. If you are in need of help or someone to talk to at any time the Maine helpline is available at 1-800-871-7741. If you are outside of Maine and need to talk, please contact the national sexual assault helpline at 800.656.HOPE (4673).
Here at Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services, our agency falls within a coalition of member centers, with the larger coalition organization, MECASA- Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, that provides member centers with a host of support, trainings, guidance, policy oversight, and many other functions for our centers and survivors across the state.
In this episode, we are lucky enough to be joined by our very own MECASA Executive Director, Elizabeth Ward Saxl.
Elizabeth has overall strategic and operational responsibility for MECASA’s staff, programs, expansion, and the execution of its mission to end sexual violence in Maine and to support high quality sexual violence prevention and response within Maine’s communities. In addition, she focuses on initiating and advocating for victim-centered public policy at the State House and in other policy arenas.
To identify your Maine State Representative, search the listings here.
To learn more about the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, please visit MECASA.org.
If you have questions about this podcast or our services, visit Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services.
Support the show
Sponsor an episode(s) of our podcast, to include a small commercial interlude, please reach out to Heather at heather.turner@sapars.org
Music Credits:
Intro/Outro Music: WaterFall by RomanSenykMusic
Welcome to The Consent Chronicles, a discussion with our collective of Prevention Educators at Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services. Our agency serves Androscoggin, Oxford, and Franklin Counties in Maine. The intent of our productions is to provide trauma informed information and conversation around the topic of consent.
We recognize that this can be a sensitive topic, so we ask that you take good care of yourself while listening and taking in the conversation. If you are in need of help or someone to talk to at any time the Maine helpline is available at 1-800-871-7741. If you are outside of Maine and need to talk, please contact the national sexual assault helpline at 800.656.HOPE (4673).
On this episode, Heather and Diane sat down with Lucia Chomeau-Hunt, Esq. Lucia is an attorney at Maine's very own Pine Tree Legal Assistance. Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services and Pine Tree have worked closely together for many years as we engage with survivors who can benefit from a collective approach to their needs in the legal system.
Lucia Chomeau Hunt is the directing attorney of the Family Law and Victim Rights Unit at Pine Tree Legal Assistance. She has represented victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in civil proceedings at Pine Tree since 2006, and now leads a team of attorneys representing survivors across Maine. Lucia provides training and legislative testimony on issues related to interpersonal violence in Maine. She was appointed to the Maine Commission on Domestic and Sexual Abuse in 2010, and served as Chair of the Commission from 2016-2023. Outside of work, Lucia loves spending time with her family in the outdoors, preferably on or near the water.
If you have more questions about legal options in Maine, you can visit Pine Tree Legal Assistance
If you have questions about this podcast or our services, visit Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services
Music Credits:
Waterfall by RomanSenykMusic
Support the show
Sponsor an episode(s) of our podcast, to include a small commercial interlude, please reach out to Heather at heather.turner@sapars.org
Music Credits:
Intro/Outro Music: WaterFall by RomanSenykMusic
Welcome to the latest episode of The Consent Chronicles!
Available across the web on your favorite podcast directory soon!
Burn out? Pissed off at the world? Chasing the hits of dopamine?
Yeah, we get it.
That’s why we have Crystal with us on this episode. Crystal is the mastermind behind what she calls “Creative Self Care”.
Wait! Wait! We know! The term self-care gets thrown around a lot! It’s definitely one of those buzz phrases that gets tossed around and can feel a little unattainable past a mani/pedi or massage.
That’s where Crystal comes in! The SAPARS team recently had Crystal visit us during a staff retreat. All of us did a little side eye/eye roll when we saw “self-care” on the agenda. But, within just a few minutes, Crystal had us hooked. We were all in and if you know anyone is social services work, you know that is a tall order!
We thought this was the perfect opportunity to not only share the brilliance that is Crystal and her Creative Self-Care, but before we start really digging into the world of sexual violence and anti-oppression work, give our listeners some tools to take better care of themselves.
Want to learn more, Crystal has a free online self-care course available on her website here: https://crystalmclaincreative.com/pages/online-classes and so much more for Patreon followers.
We recognize that these discussions can be a sensitive topic, so we ask that you take good care of yourself while listening and taking in the conversation. If you are in need of help or someone to talk to at any time the Maine helpline is available at 1-800-871-7741. If you are outside of Maine and need to talk, please contact the national sexual assault helpline at 800.656.HOPE (4673).
#SAPARS #Maine #ConnectionIsPrevention #BelieveSurvivors
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**Join Heather, Molly and Diane as they bring back The Consent Chronicles!
Welcome to The Consent Chronicles, a discussion with our collective of Prevention Educators at Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services. Our agency serves Androscoggin, Oxford, and Franklin Counties in Maine. The intent of our productions is to provide trauma informed information and conversation around the topic of consent.**
We recognize that this can be a sensitive topic, so we ask that you take good care of yourself while listening and taking in the conversation. If you are in need of help or someone to talk to at any time the Maine helpline is available at 1-800-871-7741. If you are outside of Maine and need to talk, please contact the national sexual assault helpline at 800.656.HOPE (4673).
So, let's just talk about consent! It is a part of every single day. From passing the salt over breakfast, to putting in that PTO request at work, consent is everywhere!
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**Week 12: The one where we put it all together.
We don’t need to have every box checked. We can look at this like a story that we are sewing together…and patching when it needs patching. Visible mending…And just like visible mending, we fix the pieces that need repair and it will look different than before…but still amazing and beautiful.**
**You may not have every pace as a part of your development or present in your life now, that's ok.
Which were you able to identify for yourself? Can you create the missing ones?
It’s never too late. Healing is not linear.**
Kintsugi- is the general concept of highlighting or emphasizing imperfections, visualizing mends and seams as an additive or an area to celebrate or focus on.
“Ring the bells (ring the bells) that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything (there is a crack in everything) That's how the light gets in” -Leonard Cohen
Kintsugi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT55_u8URU0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LMKGte0UU
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Welcome to our PACES Mini-Cast Series.
Question TEN: In your home, were there rules that were clear and fairly administered?
We talk about restorative justice, in a home setting. We chat about seeing the need behind behaviors. And we talk about boundaries.
Boundaries boundaries boundaries: How do we create consistent boundaries for ourselves, help our children create them, and keep them respected in a family setting?
What about consent? Yeah, consent.
Jennifer Viets video, Talking Circles at Home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ0pfRGILsE
Karen Purvis, Trust Based Relational Intervention Videos, both are long, take what you need, leave what you don't.
TBRI: Intro: https://youtu.be/7vjVpRffgHQ
Putting the Pieces Together: https://youtu.be/T43zJDgTNPA
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Question NINE: Overall, did your schools provide you the resources and academic experiences you needed to learn?
It would be great if we could reframe schools as a community center type space. Let’s talk about how to work within the school system…
Kids would go to school just so that they could talk to a support person...we’ve had kids who will show up because we scheduled a meeting. Their people are at the school and they need that connection. We wish they were also more hungry to learn and allowed to be curious...and make messes…
They also might go to school because they want to learn despite unsafe people being at the school.
We wish we could look beyond school as a commodity …
Our links for this week,
https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?language=en
https://project-nia.org/
Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=SVS2GC8SL4ERC)