WHO ARE WE

Our Mission

MESA is a statewide program committed to empowering communities and preventing violence across Indiana.

MESA started out as an organization focused mainly on preventing sexual violence, but we have expanded our work to encompass other community empowerment programs and strategies. MESA is housed in the College of Agriculture at Purdue University in the Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication Department (ASEC).

MESA translates to "table" in Spanish. In that spirit, we invite all communities to the table to develop culturally affirming strategies that grow stronger and healthier communities.

MESA programs:

  • Promote safe environments within communities, families, and populations through outreach, advocacy, leadership development, and training.
  • Work to prevent sexual violence by empowering historically marginalized communities, recognizing the risk factors that play a role in the perpetuation of sexual violence, and mobilizing the community to act and create community-based solutions.
  • Strive to prevent bullying and violence in schools by implementing research-based prevention curricula, to build strong support teams within schools through professional training and technical assistance, and to foster a safe school climate.
  • Support farm workers by advocating for fair and safe working conditions, gathering and distributing resources to communities, and working to dismantle and repair the systems that allow for farm workers to be mistreated.
  • Serve all communities regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, languages spoken, disability, or immigration status to create a voice for those who might not be heard otherwise.

MESA has a long history of advocating for, and supporting the empowerment of communities that have historically been marginalized. MESA continues to center the voices of farmworkers, Latinx and Immigrant communities, Black, Indigenous and People of Color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and People with disabilities.

We invite you to further explore our site and learn more about our programs and how to support them. If you do not find the answers to your questions here, we welcome the opportunity to find the answer for you - please see individual program pages or the Contact Us page for contact information.