November 10, 2026
BATON ROUGE - The Safe Wheels Alliance pilot program at Baton Rouge Community College is expanding to include clients of Sexual Trauma Awareness & Response (STAR) in the Baton Rouge area, helping more survivors overcome transportation barriers and build independence.
Launched in October 2025, the initiative brings together Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges (LCTC), Baton Rouge Community College, Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (LCADV), and the Governor’s Office of Women’s Policy. Through the program, BRCC’s automotive technology students provide routine vehicle maintenance to clients of the IRIS Domestic Violence Center, helping survivors access employment, medical appointments, counseling, and other essential services.
“Reliable transportation is critical to helping survivors achieve independence and
access the services they need to rebuild their lives,” said Laurie Marien, Executive Director of Women’s Policy for the Office of Governor
Landry. “This partnership also gives automotive technology students valuable hands-on experience
as they prepare to enter the workforce.”
The expansion recognizes that sexual violence can occur both within and outside intimate partner relationships and that survivors often face transportation barriers when accessing medical care, trauma therapy, legal services, and other essential resources. By including STAR clients, the program broadens its reach to survivors of sexual assault, regardless of their relationship to the person who harmed them.
“The Safe Wheels Alliance is another way that BRCC can give back to our community by helping survivors of domestic and sexual violence,” said BRCC Chancellor Willie E. Smith, Sr. “This program enables survivors to be independent by having transportation to get to work, pick up their children and get where they need to go. Simultaneously, the program helps our automotive students by providing them with hands-on experience in the skills they are learning at BRCC. The Safe Wheels Alliance is a win-win for Baton Rouge.”
The Governor’s Office of Women’s Policy is working to expand Safe Wheels Alliance statewide by partnering with additional domestic violence shelters, STAR locations, and LCTC automotive technology programs to help more survivors access reliable transportation and pursue lives free from abuse.