SERVICES


SERVICES
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ADVOCACY


PROMISE PLACE
A SEXUAL ASSAULT RESOURCE CENTER
WHERE HOPE AND HEALING BEGIN
Sexual Violence usually involves some kind of power differential, coercion, threat and or outright force.
Sexual Violence with physical contact can include unwanted touching, physical force, threat of death by a weapon, drugging, restraints, rape, torture and murder.
Sexual Violence may involve activities that don’t include physical contact between the victim and the perpetrator which can brutally violent.
Some examples of the range of Sexual Violence without physical contact include verbal or visual sexual harassment, threats, intimidation, peeping, taking nude photos.
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Initial and ongoing support for survivors of sexual violence, trauma, or crime and their support for their families
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24 hour crisis line
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Support during SANE exams and police interviews. We are here to provide tools and support regardless of your reporting status.
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Employability services, housing services, education services, food assistance, medical expense resources, community partner assistance and information, etc.
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Advocacy
Trauma and support groups
Helping survivors of sexual assault, crime, or trauma find their voice's and supporting victim's through a difficult time, whether it be at the hospital, police department, or in court after an act of sexual violence or a crime. We understand there can be lasting effects long after trauma. Therefore, our advocates are available to assist with housing referrals, employability services, education, food boxes, and area resource information.
24 hour crisis line
Promise Place advocates are available to take crisis phone calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Mental health counseling
Trauma focused groups, facilitated by therapists are available frequently throughout the year.
The process is easy to join, call us to see if we have a current or upcoming group for your needs.
3
MENTAL HEALTH
Promise Place provides Individual and group therapy. Please give our office a call to inquire about group therapy. We serve individuals effected by sexual assault, crime, or trauma.
Rape, trauma, and sexual assault affect more than you might think – they take a severe toll on victims’ mental health and overall wellness. People who experience sexual violence are more than twice as likely as their peers to have some kind of mental disorder according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The connection between trauma and mental health illustrate the importance of seeking trauma focused therapeutic treatment. How strongly the two problems are intertwined is virtually immeasurable and astoundingly profound.
Symptoms of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, dissociation, and many other mental health issues, can be traced back to an incident of history of violence or trauma. Treating victims of trauma and facilitating the recovery process to help transform victims into not just survivors but into thriving individual.
We provide free trauma therapy to anyone (ages 3 and up) who has been a victim of a crime, sexually assaulted, or experienced a various form of trauma. Trauma of any type can have significant mental health consequences. Typically, victims of any type of trauma suffer from symptoms of PTSD, which include stress, anxiety, dissociation, concentration, hyper-arousal, and distortions. Sexual assault can have additional profound effects due to the highly personal violation of the crime. Along with PTSD symptoms, guilt, shame, trust issues, deep pain, depression, self-esteem, and anger are among the most common symptoms victims experience. Specific trauma-focused mental health treatments have proven to be effective in helping people overcome the many common symptoms. All of our contract therapists practice trauma-informed treatment approaches that are specifically tailored to each individual. The mental health interventions are provided in conjunction with advocacy to provide the best possible services.
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Prevention
We place tremendous value on prevention education. At Promise Place the main goal is to not only help victims of abuse, but to also bring awareness to violence prevention.
We have collaborated with the CDC and NCCASA to implement 3 programs focuses on youth violence into Jones, Craven, and Pamlico counties.
The 3 programs are Safe Dates, Shifting Boundaries, and Strengthening Families.
Our programs aim to increase protective factors against multiple forms of violence in our service area, with a specific focus on:
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helping individuals learn skills in solving problems non-violently, supporting youth in building healthy and safe connections with caring adults
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increasing the coordination of services and resources in our communities
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improving community support and connectedness (especially for communities for whom equitable access to important social, economic, and cultural resources is denied)
For more information on our Prevention Programs, click HERE.
What to do after an assault
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Find a safe location away from the perpetrator. Ask someone you trust for moral support.
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Know that what happened was not your fault.
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Preserve all evidence of the attack.
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Do not bathe, wash your hands, brush your teeth, eat or smoke.
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If at the location of the attack, do not clean or straighten up or remove anything.
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Write any details you can recall about the attack and the perpetrator.
4. Seek medical attention as soon as
possible. Although you may not have
any visible physical injuries, you may be at risk of acquiring a sexually
transmitted disease, or for women a risk
for pregnancy.
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Ask the health care professional to conduct a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Exam) or a SAFE (Sexual Assault Forensic Exam).
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If you suspect you have been drugged, request a urine sample be collected.
5. Recognize that healing from an attack
takes time. Give yourself the time you
need and help is always available.