Our Services

Overview
Clinical Services
Educational Programs
Advocacy


Services are available for men, women and children who have been affected by any form of sexual violence. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, we are here to help you.

All services are FREE of charge and completely CONFIDENTIAL

Services include:
Individual short-term counseling

Support groups (separate groups for survivors and their families)

24-hour hotline staffed with Certified Sexual Assault Crisis Counselors

24-hour personal accompaniment and advocacy at local hospitals and police stations

Preparation, accompaniment and advocacy through the court process

Assistance in filing for victim's compensation benefits

Application assistance for the Address Confidentiality Program
for survivors of sexual violence

Information and referrals to outside agencies

TTY access available for persons who are deaf or hearing impaired during office hours; after hours use CT relay (800) 842-9710

Bilingual staff available

Risk reduction and prevention education programs for audiences age 5-adult

Local, state and national statistical information available

Full informational resource library available for borrowing

On-hand state and national rape crisis referral listings


All of our services are FREE of charge and Completely CONFIDENTIAL

Counseling

Our clinical services are available to anyone who feels they have been the victim of a sexual violence of any kind. All of our services are available completely free of charge, and are open to men, women and children (individual counseling not available for children under 14 years of age) whose lives have been affected by sexual violence.

The agency offers up to 12 sessions of one on one crisis counseling with a Certified Sexual Assault Crisis Counselor. Our advocates will meet you in our office or out in the community to make it easier for you to get the help you need. Appointments are available throughout the day as well as early morning and evening.

Education

SACEC offers a variety of educational presentations on a wide range of topics to raise awareness about sexual violence.
Our programs are age appropriate, non-threatening and teach audiences risk reduction and prevention techniques, the prevalence and pervasiveness of these crimes, and what to do if you or someone you know is sexually assaulted.

This is just a sampling of our programming. For a full list, or to discuss one of our custom programs, please e-mail us at smushegian@sacec-ct.org!

Elementary and Pre-School Audiences

Recent studies show the importance of safety programs that are direct, consistent, and extremely interactive when discussing inappropriate touching problems with young children. Research shows that ambiguous ideas, such as feelings, are difficult for small children to follow and that the message should be clear and concise.

Our "Feeling Safe" program is an interactive educational program designed to empower children to talk about touches that make them feel uncomfortable.
This program is safety education, NOT sex education. It is designed around safety lessons they already know to enable the child to integrate it into their lives just as they would with bike or fire safety education.
Our Elementary programs include interactive exercises and a video component.

Feeling Safe is provided at three levels -

Level 1 - specially designed for students in pre-school through 1st grade. Program is presented in two 30 minute sessions with no more than 25 students per group.

Level 2- designed for students in 2nd through 4th grade. Programs are presented in two 45 minute sessions with no more than 30 children per group.

Level 3-designed for students in 5th and 6th grade. Programs are presented in two 45 minute sessions with no more than 30 children per group.

Middle and High School Audiences

Studies show that 33% of all sexual assault victims are between the ages of 12-17 years of age and that 22% are under the age of 12. Research also shows that juveniles perpetrate approximately 1/5 of rapes and 1/2 of all child molestation cases committed in the United States.

It was with these statistics in mind that our middle and high school presentations were developed.

National research shows that teenagers between the ages of 16-19 are 3.5 times more likely to be assaulted than other age groups. Sexual violence can lead to post traumatic stress disorder, alcohol and drug use and /or dependence, depression as well as other destructive behaviors.

Our Middle and High School programs are age appropriate, interactive, provoke discussion, and are relevant and applicable to the student's everyday lives.

Programs look at both ends of the sexual violence continuum: sexual harassment and sexual assault.