Published: July 02, 2008 09:38 pm            

Help is on the way

Sexual assault nurse to be stationed in Henderson County

The East Texas Crisis Center has worked for years to bring help closer to home.

It will soon see the mission accomplished.

“One of the major accomplishments we have been able to be a part of this year is bringing the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program to Athens,” Outreach coordinator Donna Johnson said. “This is a huge, huge groundbreaking event for Henderson County.”

She said she hopes the SANE program will be in place by the second week of August.

“(East Texas Medical Center) will have two assault nurses and two that have not quite finished their training,” she said.

“This is going to allow the victims to be able to stay in Henderson County in order to receive services,” Johnson said. “This is something we have been working for a long time.”

According to Johnson, victims of sexual assault currently have to go to East Texas Medical Center Tyler to be examined. She calls that re-victimization.

“Every second a victim has to wait for assistance is one more second she has to be alone,” she said.

The crisis center provides legal advocacy, hospital on-call, financial assistance, counseling and support groups, resources to seek employment, relocation and crime victims’ compensation.

“It’s about bringing back dignity and to empower their lives and letting them speak for themselves,” Johnson said.

She said a representative for the state Attorney General’s Office is scheduled to sign a protocol on Aug. 7 to authorize several agencies to form a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART).

“To have a SANE program, you have to have a SART,” Johnson said.

She said the agencies in the SART are: East Texas Crisis Center; East Texas Medical Center Athens; Henderson County District Attorney’s Office; Henderson County County Attorney’s Office; area law enforcement agencies; Child Advocacy Center; Child Protective Services; and Adult Protective Services.

Johnson said each member of the team knows their role to help a victim.

Johnson said in 2007 the crisis center provided services for 317 victims, of which 84 were sexual assault victims. In the first six months of this year, the center has helped 163. Johnson said 75 percent of those victims had been sexually assaulted.

“Henderson County is in the top 10 percent per capita for domestic violence incidents in Texas,” Johnson said.

She said one of the reasons for the high rate is the isolation of the area. A abuser wants to isolate their victim according to Johnson.

        

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