For those who have been raped or sexually abused, sometimes the hardest part can be after the assault.
The Crisis Center of Northeast Texas offers help with its Sexual Assault Support Group.
The group meets every third Thursday night from 6-7:30 p.m. at the center, located at 2718 Wesley St. in Greenville.
“[Being assaulted] is probably the most horrible crime against, not only your body, but your emotion and your spirit. That’s probably not something you can talk about to just anyone, maybe not even your family or friends,” Kacy Flanagan, executive director of the Crisis Center, said.
According to the center’s Web site, their mission is “to provide services to victims of sexual assault and child abuse” by “empowering victims to become survivors.”
They do this by offering free educational presentations on topics such as “Rape Prevention and Awareness,” “Rape Myths and Facts,” “Date Rape and Acquaintance Rape” and “Stranger Danger.” They also offer presentations suited to individual’s needs.
“That’s really our mission, to be there when someone needs it. It would be great if nobody ever needed it, but unfortunately that’s not the case,” Flanagan said.
The center also has an extensive collection of educational videos about sexual assault for professionals and educators to check out.
The center is funded by grants from victims of crime acts and sexual assault prevention and crisis services.
“Most of our funding is grant-funded, and then we accept donations and volunteers,” Flanagan said. “A requirement of our grants is that we have a volunteer program.”
Personal training to deal with sexual assault is another service offered.
This training is aimed at volunteers who work with victims.
“Our grants require that anybody who is going to provide a service to a victim must go through a 40-hour training session,” Flanagan said. “Part of that is classroom, part of it is hands-on, and part of it is self-study.”
An agreement exists between several organizations in Hunt County – the hospital, law enforcement, crisis center, prosecutors, Child Protection Services and Adult Protective Services – detailing how to handle these emotional situations.
Once a sexual assault has occurred, it is mandatory the center be notified, and if the victim proceeds to the hospital, so does a representative from the center, Flanagan said.
“We’re there during the evidence collection; we’re there during the medical exam, at the victim’s pleasure,” she said. “If the victim doesn’t want us there, then we won’t. But we do take information, clothing, and toiletry items to them, so they don’t have to go home in their hospital gown – or a sheet.”
The center’s volunteers also accompany victims to hospitals, meetings with law enforcement, and court hearings, acting as victim’s advocates. Victims needing long-term counseling are free to take advantage of the Crisis Center’s onsite full-time therapist. Although the Crisis Center primarily deals with sexual assault and child abuse, if someone has been victimized in some way or another, there are volunteers willing to assist.
“I know we’ve helped some DUI victims and witnesses to violent crimes,” Flanagan said. “If someone knocks on our door or calls or phone, we’re not going to turn them away.”
For information about the Crisis Center of Northeast Texas and its Sexual Assault Support Group, call 903-454-9999 or visit www.ccnetx.org. The center’s 24-hour Crisis Intervention Counseling hotline can be reached at 1-800-656-HOPE.