JACKSON COUNTY SART
HELPING SURVIVORS FIND HEALING AND HOPE
Author: Judith Rosen, Jackson County SART Development Director
This is a story of community power in action.
Twenty-two years ago, a group of local nurses, law enforcement officers and advocates decided that our county’s response to sexual violence had to change.
The need they saw was urgent. Sexual assault survivors seeking care faced long waits in busy, public ERs, encountered staff untrained in psychological trauma or evidence collection, and often incurred significant medical bills. Few people reported their assaults to police. Few received information about services like advocacy that could help support their healing. Many said they left feeling utterly alone.
The consequences could be devastating. Survivors of rape or attempted rape – nearly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 31 men – develop PTSD at higher rates than combat veterans. They are also at increased risk for long-term physical health issues, job and housing instability and substance use disorders.
Prompt, expert care could change this. Our nonprofit, Jackson County SART (Sexual Assault Response Team), came into being to provide it.
Working with advocates and area hospitals, we established a free, 24/7 response program that Oregon’s then-attorney general called “the most impressive in the state.”
Survivors requesting care at any Jackson or Josephine County hospital within seven days of an assault now receive a private room, and one of our specially-trained Forensic Nurse Examiners is immediately called in. Forensic Nurse Examiners care for survivors’ psychological as well as physical well-being, working to stabilize them and help restore their sense of safety and control. With the survivor’s consent, an advocate from Community Works or Women’s Crisis Support Team joins to provide ongoing emotional support and explain legal rights and options. For survivors who wish it, our nurses can provide expert forensic evidence collection and, later, expert witness testimony.
We also train our nurses to recognize barriers that might impede survivors’ healing. They can connect survivors with our program’s Resource Specialist, who works to secure services like free medical follow-up care, financial assistance, free counseling and stable housing.
Our program’s benefits are clear. It has more than tripled the rate at which survivors seek further services and support, a key predictor of future well-being; last year, 91% of those our Forensic Nurse Examiners served connected to at least one additional service as a result of our care. Within four years it more than doubled the reporting rate among survivors served. Furthermore, 100% of survivors responding to our survey said we helped improve their physical, mental and/or financial well-being.
Now, thanks to strong community support, we have just opened our program to survivors of domestic violence as well. If you would like to add to that support us or learn more about our work, please call: Phone: (541) 631-9941 or visit our website: https://www.jacksoncountysart.org/
Sexual assault survivors can receive free, 24/7 care within 7 days of an assault at any Jackson or Josephine County hospital’s emergency department; Asante hospitals in Jackson or Josephine County are 24/7 response sites for domestic violence survivors.
Left to Right: Erin Carr (Resource Specialist), Susan Moen (founder and former ED), Ava DeRosier (current
ED)
