The Sexual Trauma & Abuse Care Center, stacarecenter.org

On a per-capita basis, sexual assault is just as likely to happen in a rural community as an urban one. A major difference between the two areas, however, is the amount of social services available to victims.

“I think rural communities face different challenges than more urban areas. It’s harder to access those services,” said Chrissy Heikkila, executive director for the Sexual Trauma & Abuse Care Center in Lawrence.

Chrissy Heikkila.

“Everyone has their own personal experiences with sexual violence, whether they were personally affected or it’s someone they know,” said Liz Chapa, the center’s rural and under-served advocate. “But in the rural areas there are those barriers. There’s more silence. There’s a difficulty getting services or the knowledge that they’re out there.”

Although those differences do exist, the Sexual Trauma & Abuse Care Center — formerly the GaDuGi SafeCenter — is combating the discrepancy between the two types of communities, Heikkila and Chapa agreed. And the recent openings of new locations in both Franklin and Jefferson counties is helping the organization to make an impact.

The Franklin County location, which is at 114 W. Second St., in Ottawa, opened this January, Heikkila said. The Jefferson County location, which is at 100 Washington St., in Oskaloosa, opened in February.

The expansion is due, in part, to recent increases in federal funding, Heikkila said. One fund in particular, the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Assistance Grant, increased annual funding from $26,000 to $160,000 this year.

“That one is the really big one,” Heikkila said.

The increased funding not only allowed the Care Center to rent the two new spaces but also to double its staff from six to 12 employees.

“All the positions are kind of in all three counties. Previously we had one dedicated person for Franklin and Jefferson counties, and now we have positions in all three,” Heikkila said.

To coincide with Sexual Assault Awareness Month the two new locations will host open houses in April, which will allow them to spread the word on the services they officer, Heikkila said.

“We’re inviting the communities to come see our spaces and really get familiar with our staff and us as an agency since we changed our name,” Chapa said. “In Oskaloosa and Jefferson County some people still don’t know that our services are available, so for some folks it’s quite new and exciting.”

At its core the Care Center focuses on three main areas, Heikkila said. And while the organization has always served Douglas, Franklin and Jefferson counties, the new locations allow them to expand their community outreach.

Heikkila said the expansion has affected core goals in the following ways:

• 24/7 advocacy, hotline and hospital response — “We have advocates available all the time, but now we have the spaces to meet clients in a confidential location. We’re able to meet them face to face,” she said.

• Therapeutic programs — “We offer ongoing one-on-one therapy and support groups, but before we were relying on churches or open spaces,” she said. “Now we have our own locations.”

• Prevention education programs — The new locations “again allow us to have landing spaces for all of our staff to provide services to schools and programs interested in learning about sexual violence,” she said.

One of the Care Center’s oldest partners, the Willow Domestic Violence Center, also serves Douglas, Franklin and Jefferson counties, said Kristine Chapman, the organization’s director of community engagement. Recent increases in VOCA funding also positively impacted the Willow, allowing the two organizations to strengthen their longstanding relationship even further.

“We are constantly working with the Care Center,” Chapman said. “Whether it’s them needing to find a safe place for a survivor of sexual assault to be able to stay, they have that guaranteed at our shelter, or if it’s working in the community to educate about prevention and intervention.”

Domestic violence and sexual assault, more often than not, are interlinked issues, Chapman said.

“For example, in college-age women, 1 in 5 experiences sexual violence, and I think 80 to 90 percent of those cases are perpetrated by someone they trust,” Chapman said. “As a woman I’ve always been taught to beware the man hiding in the bushes, but that’s not really where the danger lies. More often than not it’s the people we think we can trust.”

Educating the public and offering aid to victims can be a difficult task, but Heikkila said the Care Center’s new spaces and recent financial boosts are positively affecting the organization’s mission, a trend that will hopefully continue.

“Sexual violence is hard to talk about. It’s a hard conversation to have,” she said. “It’s definitely a challenge to have people understand what we can do and how we work. And we have to reach out as well.”

The Oskaloosa open house will be from 3 to 5 p.m. on April 4. The Ottawa open house will be from 3 to 5 p.m. April 11. Both events are open to the public.

The Care Center will also host other activities for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, including documentary screenings and community conversations.

More information can be found online at stacarecenter.org.