Cleveland Rape Crisis Center & WomenSafe Collaborate to Open New Office on Mentor Avenue April 09 2019
Specialized Services will Help Women,
Children and Men Recover from Abuse
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center has opened a new office at 8334 Mentor Avenue in the City of Mentor, thanks to funding from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office that was announced in October. WomenSafe, an organization dedicated to providing emergency shelter and resources to survivors of domestic violence throughout Northeast Ohio, will also provide counseling and outreach services out of the new Mentor Office location.
The new Mentor Office will make comprehensive healing services for survivors of rape, sexual abuse and sex trafficking, as well as counseling for survivors of domestic violence, more accessible to residents who live or work in Lake County. Both Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and WomenSafe have provided counseling services inside the offices of Beacon Health in Mentor since 2014.
“This new standalone office allows both organizations to expand services to meet the growing demand we’ve seen in Lake County,” said Sondra Miller, president & CEO of Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. “Survivors of sexual and domestic violence deserve access to healing services, no matter where they live.”
In the new location, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center will provide individual and group counseling, victim advocacy services, support for victims of human trafficking, crisis intervention, community outreach, education and professional training. Specialized counseling and outreach services will be available to victims of domestic violence, courtesy of WomenSafe. Grants from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Lake County ADAMHS Board allow this help to be available at no cost to those who use it.
“We’re proud that Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and WomenSafe are providers in our Lake County ADAMHS network,” said Kim Fraser, Executive Director of Lake County ADAMHS Board. “We applaud this move because it will improve access to vital services for local survivors of rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence.”
“Our partnership with Cleveland Rape Crisis Center has flourished over the past five years,” added Andrea Gutka, chief executive officer of WomenSafe. “Our services are distinct, but complimentary. It makes sense that we can offer them side-by-side in one safe, nurturing and trauma-informed environment.”
Nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the U.S. have been raped at some time in their lives[i]. Rape is one of the most under-reported crimes, with nearly two-thirds of rapes never reported, and only 12 percent of child sexual abuse reported to authorities[ii].
The new office location is made possible by funding through the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) program administered by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Crime Victim Services Division.
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About Cleveland Rape Crisis Center
The mission of Cleveland Rape Crisis Center is to support survivors of rape and sexual abuse, promote healing and prevention, and advocate for social change. In 2018, the Center provided counseling, advocacy and crisis intervention services to 10,000 rape and sexual abuse survivors and reached 54,000 people through its prevention, education and training programs in Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake counties. For more information, visit clevelandrapecrisis.org/mentor or call 216-619-6194. The Center’s 24-hour Crisis & Support Hotline is 216-619-6192 (call/text) or clevelandrapecrisis.org/chat.
About WomenSafe
WomenSafe’s mission is to provide emergency shelter and resources to survivors of domestic violence throughout Northeast Ohio. As part of that mission, WomenSafe has been able to expand outreach services to include counseling, outreach, and additional presence in the schools and courts in Lake County, notably through the support of the Lake County ADAMHS Board.
About Lake County ADAMHS Board
The Lake
County Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board plans, funds, monitors, and evaluates services available for Lake County
residents who are dealing with mental illness and/or substance-use disorders.
[i] Black, M. C., Basile, K. C., Breiding, M. J., Smith, S .G., Walters, M. L., Merrick, M. T., … Stevens, M. R. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 summary report. Retrieved from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/NISVS_Report2010-a.pdf
[ii] Hanson, R. F., Resnick, H. S., Saunders, B. E., Kilpatrick, D. G., & Best, C. (1999). Factors related to the reporting of childhood rape. Child Abuse and Neglect, 23, 559–569. doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(99)00028-9