The other day we visited Holly and Safe Haven. They help people who’ve been victimized by sexual abuse. (Safe Haven used to be called the Sexual Assault Crisis Center.) They do counseling, and they even have an emergency sexual assault clinic on-site.
Anyway, Holly gave us a tour of Safe Haven, and I’m telling ya’ - that one was tough for me. The services they provide is filling a huge gap that I never thought about - between the courts and law enforcement and actually helping victims mend and heal. You never can forget something like that, but they really help victims through that healing process and get on with their lives.
Walking in to that children’s therapy room with the toys and the puppets was just tragic.
I’ve said it before, and don’t get me wrong - an adult does not deserve to be abused, but with a child, it just really breaks my heart. You think about the innocence that gets stolen from them - all the things it does to them mentally and physically. And then walking in there and seeing those toys and little puppet theater they use because the kids have trouble just saying what happened, so they use those toys to tell their story. It’s tough.
There are a lot of things in life that we deal with. We sweep them under the rug and don’t think about them, and then we see them up close and it’s kind of like ‘What do we need to do to help?’ Make sure no one ever gets abused again? Sure. But that’s not reality. So the next thing is we have to help people deal with that abuse.
Holly told us the VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grants might get cut from the federal budget, which would have a major impact on their operations. And the whole point of VOCA grants is so that people won’t have to pay for treatment because they were a victim of a crime. If Safe Haven lost those funds, they would almost have to shut down - same as if they lost the United Way contributions. It’s amazing to see how these places operate and how important these contributions are.
Most people don’t realize this, but we have a hotline to report child abuse (sexual and otherwise). And it’s state law to report if you suspect a child is being abused. They database information from all over, and they track the bits and pieces of information. If you suspect someone is being abused, you should call 1-877-237-0004 (even anonymously), and if they get enough calls about someone, they’ll piece together the information and intervene and get these children on the road to recovery. It’s amazing what they do with technology these days.
Well, I better blog you later. In my next blog I’ll tell you about us visiting the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Rehab Center. Have a good weekend.
Blog you soon,
Dave Bennett
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