Sexual assault counseling center opening today

By Jackie Valley

Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 | 2:05 a.m.

All it takes is one phone call reporting a sexual assault and teams at the Rape Crisis Center spring to provide immediate crisis intervention.

But heartbreaking phone calls from victims in the days after sexual assaults nagged at officials from the Rape Crisis Center.

There was a missing link in responding to rapes: available therapeutic counseling in the aftermath.

Shortly after taking the helm of Las Vegas’ Rape Crisis Center as executive director in August 2006, Lu Torres noticed a troubling number of victims calling to report difficulty finding a therapist or running into six-week waiting lists.

“They’d call back crying, and I just felt terrible,” she said.

The problem prompted research that culminated in the Rape Crisis Center receiving in November a $350,000 grant from Nevada Women’s Philanthropy for the Signs of Hope Counseling Center, opening today at the College of Southern Nevada.

The counseling center — offering individual therapy and support groups for sexual assault victims age 12 and older — is a partnership with UNLV’s Department of Counseling Education.

UNLV’s Dr. Larry Ashley will serve as the supervisor therapist, with several graduate student interns working at the center to offer counseling in both English and Spanish, Torres said.

Torres hopes the counseling center will be self-sustaining in three years, in part because it’s an authorized counseling provider and can bill insurance companies. Victims will pay through insurance or what they can afford on a sliding-fee scale, Torres said.

The first of its kind in the state, the counseling center looks like any other friendly meeting place on a college campus: a brightly colored rug and comfy chairs in a main room with paintings and bulletin boards on the walls.

The center also includes private offices for individual counseling sessions and a small-group room for conversations with friends and family.

“When you’re sexually assaulted, it affects everyone in your life — your co-workers, your family members, your friends — and you become a different person,” Torres said. “So everyone needs to learn.”

Victims — about 85 percent are sexually assaulted by acquaintances — will receive individual therapy first, before moving into support group environments, Torres said.

Eventually, the center plans to offer support groups for secondary victims, such as husbands, who often call after their wives have been sexually assaulted because they don’t understand behavior changes and how to help, Torres said.

The center also is planning support groups for sexual assault victims younger than 18, she said.

“We’re taking very slow baby steps so we do it correctly,” Torres said, adding she expects the center eventually will serve 700 victims a year.

The Nevada Women’s Philanthropy awarded the grant to the Rape Crisis Center after whittling down a group of about 21 applicants, said Dana Lee, one of the founders of the grant-making organization.

The grant selection committee, which funds different nonprofits each year, looks for something sustainable that can benefit the community, she said.

“We are so proud to partner with them and to make this happen and to fill a need that is in our community,” Lee said.

Members of the Nevada Women’s Philanthropy pay a $5,000 membership each year, which goes toward funding the grants, Lee said. The organization awarded the 2010 runner-up prize, a $30,000 grant, to the Lied Discovery Children’s Museum.

The $350,000 grant toward the counseling center is payable over three years, with most of the money going toward salaries, Torres said.

The Signs of Hope Counseling Center will welcome its first clients at the end of this week.

Torres said she wants sexual assault victims to know they’re not alone.

“Whether they’ve been sexually assaulted yesterday or 20, 30 years ago, we’re here for them,” she said. “Give us a call.”

For more information about the counseling center or to schedule an appointment, call (702) 385-2153.