{"id":1506,"date":"2022-11-22T07:00:42","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T17:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/?p=1506"},"modified":"2022-11-22T08:56:51","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T18:56:51","slug":"lets-talk-about-sex-sexual-assault-that-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/lets-talk-about-sex-sexual-assault-that-is\/","title":{"rendered":"Let&#8217;s talk about sex&#8230;(sexual assault, that is)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, we&#8217;re talking about it. For four decades, YWCA\u2019s Sexual Assault Support Services has been a steadfast source of crisis intervention, care, advocacy and healing for victims and survivors of sexual assault. It is the only Hawaii Island program providing these services to all victims of sexual assault regardless of age or gender. SASS even extends it services to others affected, such as victims\u2019 parents or significant others.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1507\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1507\" style=\"width: 281px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-1507\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lorraine-Davis-good-shot-scaled-e1669070338701-375x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"281\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lorraine-Davis-good-shot-scaled-e1669070338701-375x500.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lorraine-Davis-good-shot-scaled-e1669070338701-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lorraine-Davis-good-shot-scaled-e1669070338701-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lorraine-Davis-good-shot-scaled-e1669070338701-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lorraine-Davis-good-shot-scaled-e1669070338701-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lorraine-Davis-good-shot-scaled-e1669070338701.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 281px) 100vw, 281px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1507\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lorraine Davis has served as YWCA&#8217;s Sexual Assault Support Services program director for 19 years<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Lorraine Davis has been director of the SASS Program off and on for 19 years. (She also serves as YWCA\u2019s COO.) A self-described nerd, this strong, compassionate woman is a former business owner, a trained chemist, and a cancer survivor. In 2003, she felt she needed to do something more meaningful, and YWCA has been blessed with her leadership ever since.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, it takes a formidable talent to run Hawaii County\u2019s only dedicated safety net for victims of sexual assault. The program consists of five elements:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Crisis Hotline<\/strong>. Staffed live by local, on-island experts, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (808) 935-0677. The hotline handles more than 2,000 calls per year.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Advocates<\/strong>. These champions coordinate care, accompany victims to forensic interviews and forensic exams, investigative interviews with police, and legal proceedings, and handle various other needs a victim or survivor may have.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Crisis Intervention Specialists.<\/strong> These are seasoned advocates that will stay in contact with the victim and their family and bridge the gap between their first contact until they enter other parts of the program.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners<\/strong> (SANEs). YWCA trains and manages these highly specialized RNs who collect forensic evidence.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Licensed Therapists<\/strong>. With offices in Kona and Hilo plus ability to serve via telehealth, this team provides acute care as well as long-term counseling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Can you imagine the strength and tenacity it takes to be part of this steadfast team? In addition to supporting victims, survivors and their loved ones, SASS staffers work with local police, hospitals, prosecuting attorneys, County, State and Federal government, foundations and more.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s missing? According to Lorraine, it\u2019s preventive education. Budgets for this crucial service have been cut in recent years and the community is suffering for it. \u201cNot only is sexual assault one of the most heinous crimes, affecting body, mind and soul,\u201d she said, \u201cbut the cost of rape to society is tremendous.\u201d One in four women and one in six men in the U.S. have been sexually assaulted. A person not receiving care or treatment is substantially more likely to have depression and suicidal ideation, abuse drugs, and be unable to work.<\/p>\n<p>But there is hope. \u201cWe have people coming out of our program with a newfound strength and resilience, often finding a new source of motivation and confidence that allows them to finish school, pursue higher education, go back to work or even get a better job. Damaged relationships are reknit with stronger bonds. I wouldn\u2019t be doing this work if that weren\u2019t the case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In December, SASS will launch a confidential SMS (text) feature through its crisis hotline. \u201cWe need to offer that vulnerable 17-24 age demographic the opportunity to reach out and communicate in ways that are most comfortable for them,\u201d Lorraine said.<\/p>\n<p>More good news: YWCA\u2019s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes fundraiser took place on October 29, 2022, in person this year for the first time since the Covid pandemic. The 1-mile men\u2019s march through downtown Hilo raised more than $16,000 for SASS.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to support SASS or any of YWCA of Hawaii Island\u2019s programs this year, click <a href=\"https:\/\/secure.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/forms\/donate\">here<\/a>. Mahalo!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, we&#8217;re talking about it. For four decades, YWCA\u2019s Sexual Assault Support Services has been a steadfast source of crisis intervention, care, advocacy and healing for victims and survivors of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1506"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1531,"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506\/revisions\/1531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ywcahawaiiisland.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}