Crisis Intervention includes crisis counseling through a 24-hour crisis intervention hotline and hospital accompaniment services, as well as an On-line Hotline, in which the RCC staff members are the Lead National Supervisors.
Hotline - The hotline is the "hub of services" for sexual assault survivors ensuring that what was once "kept a secret" can now be talked about, thereby, alleviating the shame. The hotline serves as the medium where a client is educated regarding the effects of rape, informed of what to do in certain crisis situations, provided crisis intervention services for a distraught survivor re-living her/his trauma, or notified by a participating hospital regarding the need for an advocate to be available to rape victims. The Center's Hotline also serves as the main source of contact for Bexar County's Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), which is composed of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital, and CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children's Hospital, as well as volunteer advocates, Center staff and law enforcement agencies
In 2006 the RCC implemented an expansion of its online crisis intervention services, as it became the Lead National Partner in the launching of the Rape Abuse Incest National Network's (RAINN) Online Hotline. This expansion has provided individuals not only in the San Antonio and Bexar County area, but nationwide with access to "real-time" crisis intervention services via the Internet. Without the development of this partnership and the creation of this dynamic web presence, young people would go to other sites for help, including insecure chat rooms, possibly making themselves more vulnerable to sexual predators. This project is innovative and offers an original approach by using technology as a means of expanding existing services to a vulnerable population. New research has found that seven out of 10 young people of all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds turn to the Internet for information about health issues. The traumatic nature of sexual assault makes it one of the most difficult experiences to vocalize, especially for young victims, and an online alternative would offer a new way to reach the countless number of victims reluctant to get help by telephone. As, there is currently no safe place on the Internet where a young survivor of sexual assault can go to receive real-time, confidential support from trained crisis intervention specialists. Currently the On-line Hotline is available to individuals Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Central time.
The hotline is available both telephonically at (210) 349-7273 or online (Click Here).
Hospital accompaniment and advocacy is offered as assistance to victims who are about to encounter a difficult emotional and psychological journey. Without hospital accompaniment and advocacy during the reporting, medical, and evidence collection process, the victim would have to maneuver this process completely alone. The need to lessen the trauma of sexual violence is extremely important as the victim is already reeling from the effects of a very intimate crime, and coping mechanisms are very likely at their lowest, while simultaneously fear, anxiety, and other psychological traumas are at their highest. A trained, sensitive, and caring advocate presenting at the hospital during this process can begin to help in the healing process
For more information about crisis intervention services contact Deana Buril, Director of Crisis Intervention, at dburil@rapecrisis.com , or by calling (210) 349-7273.
