Believe.

A Campaign for the Sexual Assault Resource and Counseling Center

The future can be bleak for sexual assault victims. Without caring, professional counseling and on-going support, victims have a much higher rate of alcoholism, promiscuity, trouble forming relationships, difficulty maintaining jobs, loss of self-esteem, and depression. The cost to victims, their loved ones, and the community as a whole can be devastating.

But victims can reclaim their futures with the help of The Sexual Assault Resource and Counseling Center (SARCC) of Lebanon County. Since 1983, approximately 12,000 women, children, and men have called on SARCC to help them make the long, difficult journey of healing. This process transforms them from victims to survivors and allows them to believe in a future that is bright.

Before 1983, rape victims in Lebanon County had to travel to Harrisburg or Lancaster for counseling. During that year, a small group of volunteers from the Harrisburg Rape Crisis Center opened an office in Lebanon County. By 1985, it was clear that Lebanon County needed a sexual assault center of its own. Today, SARCC of Lebanon County is the tenth largest provider of sexual assault counseling services in the state of Pennsylvania, serving one out of every 210 county residents.

SARCC's first office space was in a broom closet at the Lebanon Valley General Hospital. As client needs continued to grow, the agency quickly outgrew its location. Through vision and with the help of the community, SARCC secured a building in downtown Lebanon in partnership with Lebanon Family Health Services.

The initial staff consisted of one part-time counselor. Today, there is a staff of eight, including full-time trained counselors and a director of education. SARCC's next goal with personnel needs is the addition of a director of development to increase funding opportunities and provide further outreach to the Lebanon community.

So much has changed in the past twenty-five years - and yet so much remains the same.

The agency continues to provide free and confidential counseling and support to hundreds of new clients every year through the 24-hour hotline, individual and group counseling, support groups and medical accompaniment.

Staff members offer prevention education in schools, from kindergarten through college-aged programs. SARCC continues to recruit and train volunteers who staff the hotline, help with fund-raisers, and advocate for the agency and its services.

SARCC provides its services to all survivors of sexual assault as well as their significant others (i.e., parents, siblings, spouses, and friends.) The largest served population is female adults (about 75%) and one-fourth of the clients are children, who range on average from 18 months to 17 years. The youngest client served by SARCC was four weeks old.

Current innovative programs include the development of a comprehensive outreach for the Latino community and running support groups at the Lebanon County prison to reach sexual assault victims who rarely receive these counseling services. SARCC now offers advanced training to volunteers who serve as medical advocates for sexual assault victims when they first come to the hospital emergency room. Recognizing the need for community support in order to reach the 27,000 potential victims in the Lebanon Valley, the agency developed a community advisory board and a spiritual advisory board to enhance awareness and strengthen community partnerships.

And in 2007, SARCC achieved one of its longest-held dreams; a collaboration with the Good Samaritan Hospital to implement a Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) program. This program prepares registered nurses with advanced education and clinical preparation in forensic examination of sexual assault victims. The SAFE program is tailored to the needs of any locality or region to provide a victim-sensitive solution to systemic gaps in the medical-legal response to these victims. Lebanon's SAFE nurses have made a profound difference in the quality of care provided to sexual assault victims. They offer victims prompt, compassionate care and comprehensive forensic evidence collection for more effective investigations and better prosecutions

SARCC's fund-raising programs have been equally varied and innovative. Funding is available from a variety of public and private sources including the Department of Public Welfare (through the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape), the United Way of Lebanon County, and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. The agency also receives grants from public and private sources, as well as gifts and donations. A large portion of each year's budget comes from fund-raising activities run by the SARCC Board of Directors, including an annual dinner, a holiday auction, and several mail campaigns.

SARCC has come so far in its first twenty-five years; but so much remains to be done. The staff and board of directors has recognized and identified the need for additional programming in the community including:

• Setting up a summer day camp for sexually-abused children.
• Expanding education and prevention programs to engage more schools with youth leaders and street teams.
• Developing programs to make the workplace safer.
• Establishing an endowment fund for future projects.
• Developing art and music therapy programs for adult and child clients.
• Setting up a bilingual hotline program for members of the Latino community.
• Hiring a teen counselor to work with youth living in foster and group homes.
• Providing on-going therapy for incest survivors and their families.
• Creating a leadership program for young men to end sexual violence.

Like most other social service agencies, SARCC faces the constant pressure of increased costs coupled with the threat of decreased resources. Funding from local, state and federal government sources has been cut drastically. Every downturn in the economy means the threat of receiving less in gifts and donations. And, in a small community like Lebanon County, there is a small pool of committed individuals to call on for financial support.

To celebrate SARCC's 25th anniversary, the agency is introducing the "Believe" campaign. Twenty five years ago, individuals believed that a counseling center for sexual assault was a necessity in Lebanon County. Now, over 12,000 Lebanon County residents believe in the power of healing and overcoming the past. The CEO and staff, the board of directors, the volunteers, and each friend of SARCC believes in our mission and in providing aid to the people of Lebanon County for as long as necessary. The Believe campaign is developed to heighten community awareness with a goal of raising $150,000 to sustain SARCC's most needed services and implement new personnel and programming.

Please make the decision to participate in the Believe campaign today. Make your impact by believing in the mission of SARCC and furthering the agency to improve the quality of programming and the ability to thrive in the years ahead.