Our Services
Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Advocacy
The Center provides services for all victims of sexual abuse in Lower Fairfield County,
including children, women and men. Our
free and confidential services are provided
24-
hours a day, 7-days a week. Services include:
24-hour Crisis Hotline-- staffed with Certified Sexual Assault Crisis Counselors
Individual Short-Term Counseling
Up to 12 sessions of one-on-one crisis counseling is available with a Certified Sexual
Assault Crisis Counselor. Our advocates will meet you in our office or out in the
community, striving to make it as easy as possible for you to get the help you need.
Appointments are available throughout the day, as well as early mornings and evenings.
Support groups We offer separate groups for survivors and their families.
Advocacy
Advocates are available 24-hours a day to meet clients at the hospitals and police stations
to support and aid in the evidence collection examination, making a police statement, etc.
Our advocates are also available for support and accompaniment to guide clients through
the court process and judicial proceedings. If a client is unable to attend a trial for any
reason, our advocates are available to attend the proceedings for them.
Assistance in filing for victim's compensation benefits
Application assistance for the Address Confidentiality Program for survivors of sexual violence
Information and referrals to outside agencies
TTY access available for persons who are deaf or hearing impaired during office hours; after hours use CT relay (800) 842-9710
Bilingual staff, as needed
Community Education Programs: Raising Awareness to End the Violence
Our wish? A world where sexual violence no longer exists.
At The Center, we believe education is at the very heart of making our wish become a
reality. The Center offers a variety of educational programs on a wide range of topics to raise
awareness about sexual violence. Our programs are age appropriate, non-threatening and
teach audiences:
- Risk reduction and prevention techniques
- The prevalence and pervasiveness of these crimes
- What to do if you or someone you know is sexually assaulted
During the 2007 – 2008 fiscal year, The Center provided risk reduction education to more
than
9,300 individuals in Lower Fairfield County, which was significantly more than the
year before.
These education programs reached:
Pre-school and Elementary School Audiences
Recent studies show the importance of safety programs that are direct, consistent, and
extremely interactive when discussing inappropriate touching problems with young
children. Research shows that ambiguous ideas, such as feelings, are difficult for small
children to follow and that the message should be clear and concise.
Our "Feeling Safe" program is an interactive educational program designed to empower
children to talk about touches that make them feel uncomfortable. This program is safety
education, NOT sex education. It is designed around safety lessons they already know, so
the child can integrate these lessons into their lives just as they would with bike or fire safety
education. Our elementary programs include interactive exercises and a video component.
Middle and Highschool Audiences
Studies show that 33% of all sexual assault victims are between the ages of 12-17 years of
age and that 22% are under the age of 12. Research also shows that juveniles perpetrate
approximately 1/5 of rapes and 1/2 of all child molestation cases committed in the United
States.
Sexual violence can lead to post traumatic stress disorder, alcohol and drug use and /or
dependence, depression as well as other destructive behaviors. Our Middle and High
School programs are age appropriate, interactive, provoke discussion, and are relevant and
applicable to the student's everyday lives. Programs look at both ends of the sexual
violence continuum: sexual harassment and sexual assault.
College Students
In response to the national statistics that have shown that 1 in 4 college females will be the
victim of rape or attempted rape during their four-year college career, The Center has
created “What to Know, Before You Go!” (a campus safely program for high school
students and their parents) and “Personal Safety on Campus.”
Contact Us for more information about how your group
can benefit froum our educational programs and to schedule a presentation.