The UCRCC Team
Advocacy for survivors of sexual assault has many dimensions, but is rooted in assisting each survivor in their healing process. Our advocates provide support in the following ways:
- Crisis Intervention
- Exploring coping mechanisms
- Normalizing and Validation
- Providing information, options, and resources
- Providing psychoeducation about sexual assault
- Identifying and responding to cognitive distortions
Our CSVAs do not make decisions for survivors, but rather serve as guides and provide information about the various ways survivors can interact with systems. Via the 24-hour hotline, our CSVAs provide emotional support, crisis counseling, advocacy, and in-person accompaniment through medical proceedings (i.e. sexual assault forensic examinations) as well as law enforcement interviews (i.e. filing a police report, making a statement with the police, and/or court proceedings including but not limited to civil protective/restraining order hearings).
All services provided by the Union County Rape Crisis Center are free of charge and are provided in a manner that preserves the victim's privacy and safeguards the victim's right to confidentiality pursuant to (N.J.S.A. 2A:84A-22.15). If you are interested in learning more, please do not hesitate to contact us at (908) 233-7273.
To better serve our diverse community, we have several bi-lingual CSVAs and have access to a translation service. Within our current group of advocates, we can assist in English and Spanish.
24/7 Hotline
UCRCC operates a twenty-four (24) hour sexual assault crisis response and informational hotline. Via the 24 hour hotline, specially trained Confidential Sexual Violence Advocates (CSVAs) provide emotional support, crisis counseling, advocacy, and information.
In-Person Accompaniments
As members of Union County's Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), if requested by the survivor, our CSVAs can provide in-person accompaniment to medical proceedings (i.e. sexual assault forensic examinations) and law enforcement interviews (i.e. filing a police report or making a statement with the police, legal meetings, and/or court proceedings, including but not limited to civil protective/restraining order hearings).
Information/Resources
Multi-agency service referrals are also available for survivors and family members seeking medical, legal and/or financial information, as well as other community resources.
Prevention/Community Education
A major objective of the UCRCC is to teach youth how to analyze and evaluate the way media shapes gender roles, impacts self-image, promotes or challenges social norms, and influences attitudes and behaviors though a curriculum entitled ‘Gender and Violence: How Media Shapes our Culture.’ This program is currently geared toward youth, but can be adapted for other groups.
Presentations are available for community-based organizations to further understanding and awareness of sexual violence. They can be tailored to meet the needs of your organization and can be conducted during non-traditional business hours.