“It doesn’t even seem like it’s that long,” Mouton says. “It seems like I just met those people a few weeks ago. I can still remember who they are. I can still see their faces. You just never forget. You never do.”

In the Aftermath, an Officer’s View from the Frontlines

Sept. 11, 2001, started as a normal day for Witherspoon, who is now part of UCFPD’s special operations division. Then Witherspoon and his partner got a call that a plane had crashed into one of the towers. When they received another call a few minutes later about the second tower, they knew something was seriously wrong.

“The first day we didn’t know exactly what was going on,” he says. “We were listening to the radio and we could hear officers screaming over the radio, calling for help and all types of things going on. We knew something serious was going on, but at that time, we didn’t know it was a terrorist attack.”

Witherspoon didn’t report to the World Trade Center that day, but he did arrive in downtown Manhattan the next day to work the security detail around the site’s perimeter. He stayed at that post for the rest of the year.

He remembers an eerie calm over the usually bustling city in the days after the attack.

“It was like watching one of those movies where there’s just total destruction,” Witherspoon says. “There’s nobody around, and all of the buildings were still covered in soot and ash. It was really just a sight to behold.”

Witherspoon didn’t know any fellow police officers who lost their lives on 9/11, but he did know a firefighter who responded and perished. The 20-year NYPD veteran remembers standing outside working security while watching his brothers in blue and fellow first responders going in and trying to rescue those who might still be in the building.

“It’s one thing about being a cop that you learn over the years, you obviously want to be in the middle of what’s going on,” Witherpoon says. “As most people are running away, we’re running into the danger. You want to help. It’s just a feeling that never goes away, you want to go in and help.”

Americans from across the country stepped up too, he says.

“That was a point in time and a period in history where it seemed like everyone came together,” he says. “Everybody was there to help. It really brought home what first responders do. Because from that day forward, a lot of people will come up and thank you for your service.”

Across the River, Advocates Offer Comfort and Support

As Witherspoon protected Ground Zero, Mouton and her team were across the Hudson River consoling those who lost loved ones in the attack.

Mouton, who was working in Melbourne at the time, was in a staff meeting that was interrupted with instructions to turn on the news. Minutes later, her team was deployed to New York as crisis responders.

Because planes weren’t yet back in the air, her team made the 24-hour drive to New Jersey, where they reported to the family assistance center. Though they’d been trained in crisis response, nobody could be prepared for an event of 9/11’s magnitude.

“This was nothing that anybody had ever envisioned as a crisis responder, so the books kind of went out the window, so to speak,” Mouton says.

They set up a companioning model, where victims could report to the center and be assigned to an advocate that would accompany them and explain services. There was an area for social security, a place for DNA samples to be given in the hopes it would aid in identifying loved ones, and a process for death certificates.

Eventually, family members were allowed to collect ashes from the 9/11 site.

“They had a really nice memorial where they brought them over from the other side of the river,” Mouton recalls. “A bagpipe was played and there was a police escort and family members were able to come back down and pick up a box if they chose to do that because there really wasn’t going to be much for them other than that one box.”

One night, Mouton’s group was able to leave the center and visit the site themselves. Her experience was similar to Witherspoon’s.

“You could taste and feel the grit and dust in the air,” she says. “We could hear this thunder rolling down the street and sure enough, here comes this huge flatbed truck. It had these humongous pieces of iron girder on the back and they were just crushed like tissue paper. When you see something that’s supposed to be that strong, it’s just like, there are really no more survivors there.”

Mouton’s team was there for almost two weeks. The Florida Crisis Team that she was part of had other members at the actual site debriefing first responders, patrol officers and others who were helping with body identification.

“There were a lot of intense stories that were shared, and you don’t ever forget those kinds of stories,” she says. “It’s almost in that moment someone has shared something really intimate with you and you don’t ever want to let it go. You just always carry it with you and you don’t ever forget. You never forget.”

After weeks of speaking with doctors and undergoing physical therapy, Mabrey finally felt she was ready to look at her injuries. What she saw in the mirror wasn’t the same woman she knew, one who had won beauty pageants as a child. Instead she was looking at what she describes as a horror-film monster like Freddy Krueger. More than 80 percent of her body had been burned. In that moment a flood of memories from the attack came over her.

“[My now ex-husband] might have robbed me physically, but I refused to allow him to rob me mentally, emotionally or spiritually.” – Audrey Mabrey

“I could see that butcher knife held to my throat as he attempted to rape me,” Mabrey says. “I could feel him bludgeoning me in the head over and over. I could taste the gasoline in my mouth. I could smell my burning flesh and I could hear my neighbor screaming as she rushed to my aid.”

Although it was overwhelming, Mabrey made a choice as she stared at her reflection to hold onto hope.

“My thought process in that moment was [my now ex-husband] might have robbed me physically, but I refused to allow him to rob me mentally, emotionally or spiritually,” Mabrey says.

Three years later Mabrey’s abuser was sentenced to serve life in prison and in the nine years since the attack she’s undergone many plastic surgeries to restore her former appearance as much as possible. She’s also kept her determined, positive spirit alive by traveling the country to spread awareness on domestic violence, an issue that affected more than 12 million men and women in the United States last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Confidential Campus Support 

One of her recent speaking engagements took place earlier this month at the annual Light Up the Night event, which is held every October in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and is put together by . The organization provides crisis intervention, safety and security for anyone in the UCF community that’s been impacted by crime, violence and abuse.

“We give [victims] their options — the good, the bad and the ugly — ask them ‘What do you want to do?’ and listen to them,” says Lauren Portal ’11, who began working as an advocate for Victim Services in 2014. “We’re completely confidential, which is extremely important. We don’t call the police over if [victims] don’t want us to, we don’t report incidences to Title IX and things of that nature.”

On college campuses, 43 percent of women who date report experiencing some sort of violent or abusive dating behavior, with more than half of students finding it difficult to identify these problems at all, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

“Abusers are very good at presenting things in a way like they’re loving and caring about their partner.” – Christine Mouton ’02MS,

“The problem is those things happen over a long period of time and people don’t recognize them as the signs they are because they’re so incremental,” says Christine Mouton ’02MS, director of Victim Services. “Abusers are very good at presenting things in a way like they’re loving and caring about their partner, so their partner doesn’t initially perceive it as a controlling behavior.”

Changes in behavior and clothing, not wanting to hang out often and always checking in with their partner are some of the signs Mouton says to look for if you suspect someone is experiencing domestic violence.

Challenges With Coming Forward 

Victim Services has provided help to 600-800 people affected by a range of crimes each year for the past three years.

Although recent movements like #MeToo and events such as the Brett Kavanaugh investigation before his Supreme Court confirmation have increased the national conversation around sexual harassment and violence, Mouton says she hasn’t found any indicators of increased cases reported at UCF.

Men, particularly, have a hard time reporting abuse, she says. It can often feel emasculating for them to admit a woman is their abuser, although there are now more than ever before. Often the abuse takes the form of scratching, screaming and other demeaning behavior.

“We’re seeing this on both sides, in all types of relationships,” Mouton says.

How to Get Help 

Anyone seeking help from Victim Services can call the 24/7 hotline at 407-823-1200 or text 407-823-6868. They can speak with an advocate, who has at least a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, has completed 40 hours of victim-designation training, and regularly attends conferences and workshops to advance their training. From there, the caller will be provided with campus and community resources to find the right support for them.

“A lot of times victims won’t like to talk about it because it makes it more real, but we’re literally an ear.” – Lauren Portal ’11

“We have a relationship assessment that we give [victims when they contact us] and it goes from less serious to really serious behavior,” Mouton says. “When you put a list in front of them, once they see all those checks, it’s a reality check for them.”

The advocates will also talk through a list of reporting options with the victim, such as filing a police report, injunction or order of protection, but will never try to persuade someone to do so if they aren’t comfortable.

“A lot of times victims won’t like to talk about it because it makes it more real, but we’re literally an ear,” Portal says. “We want to listen to you. We’re not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

For more information about Victim Services, visit . You can also visit their main office in Suite 450 of the on Research Parkway or their on-campus locations on the second floor of the and the Green Dot office in the .

“Relationship violence is an issue relevant to ourselves, our families and friends, and our community,” said Tee Rogers, coordinator of UCF’s United Way Campaign. “It is crucial to the health of our university and community to have intentional conversations and to support solution-focused community resources.”

According to a survey by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, one in four women and one in seven men have been the victims of physical violence by an intimate partner.

Moderated by Karen Hofmann, director of UCF Counseling and Psychological Services, the expert panelists addressed questions from their unique perspectives. The panel included Michael Freeman, counselor and professor; Adam Pritchard, professor of sociology; Bibi Brown, crisis specialist with United Way 2-1-1; Katelyn Busowski, domestic-violence survivor, advocate and UCF student; and Christine Mouton, director of UCF Victim Services.

In addition to the panel discussion, Heart of Florida United Way, UCF CARES, UCF Victim Services, domestic-violence survivor and author Debra Perleberg, Harbor House of Central Florida, Help Now of Osceola, and SafeHouse of Seminole provided resources to prevent domestic violence.

Additional events are planned for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in the Clothesline Project, a national effort to give survivors of domestic abuse an opportunity to speak out against domestic violence by decorating a T-shirt. T-shirts are free and can be decorated from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays during campus Market Day. The shirts will be hung inside the Student Union throughout October.

If you have been involved in intimate-partner violence and would like to speak with an advocate, you can reach one 24/7 by calling 407-823-1200. For ongoing counseling and support, contact UCF’s Counseling and Psychological Services at 407-823-2811.

During October, UCF’s United Way Campaign raises funds for health and human service programs that provide critical care and assistance.