Services defined

1. Crisis Intervention

24/7 Crisis Line • All calls are answered by people who are trained to deal with crisis situations caused by Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Suicide calls, and referrals for other crisis. 911 is meant for all emergencies; emergency personnel is encouraged to call for assistance with DV and SA type of emergencies. A women shelter is available to keep women safe and advocates are trained to assist with medical, legal, and social services aspects of dealing with these calls.

2. Individual & Group Counseling

Advocates are trained and registered with the State of Washington to counsel individuals to work with the feelings and situations that occur after Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Many resources are pooled at The Support Center and can be accessed by the advocates for their clients. Group counseling for survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault occurs on a weekly basis.

3. Emergency Transportation

All employees and volunteers answering the crisis line are required to have reliable transportation for emergency situations where they can meet the client in a safe place to be picked up and be moved to the shelter, hospital, or another safe destination. The drivers are all properly licensed and carry insurance. This information and documentation is kept up to date in their employee/volunteer file. The drivers also are trained to transport clients only when they can safely do so, such as requiring the seat belts to be securely buckled and that car seat requirements for infants or small children are met at all times.

4. Medical & Legal Advocacy

All people who answer the Crisis Line are trained to assist with medical examinations for evidence, be it for DV or SA. The advocate/volunteer can provide support to the client. A set of clean new clothes will be available for the client’s use, since the client’s original clothing may be confiscated for evidence. The advocate is carefully educated in reference to the rape exam; special attention is paid to the chain of transfer of evidence. This term is used to insure that the evidence collected is always monitored by an authority person to maintain the evidence’s integrity for use in the court system for prosecution.

A legal advocate is on staff with precise knowledge in most areas of legal procedures commonly used by clients of The Support Center. This person serves a resource to the other employees who have their own expertise in certain areas of the different court procedures. For example, most of our advocates assist their clients with many Protection Orders, increasing their expertise and proficiency in obtaining POs. Furthermore, some of our advocates aid clients with the filing of divorce papers, with or without child custody. This, in turn, requires additional paperwork for the parenting plan. The legal advocate at The Support Center is particularly well informed about the Colville Tribal Court System.