Project HELP bring awareness to April designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Project HELP bring awareness to the month of April which has Nationwide designation as Sexual Assault Awareness Month

2020 and 2021 will go down in history unlike any other years past! Like so many non-profit organizations, our world has changed as a result of CoVid-19. Despite the many challenges brought on by the pandemic, Project HELP ended 2020 and 2021 having served each day an average of 10.04 NEW survivors of rape, violence, crime, or sudden loss of a loved one through a traumatic event. In Collier County alone Project HELP, provided services for 1.82 NEW survivors of sexual assault a day for the past two years. Supporters made it possible for Project HELP to ASSIST more than 10,500 new clients, PROVIDE more than 25,000 client service hours and ANSWER 3,634 calls to the 24/7 HELPline. Project HELP works with survivors from victimization, prosecution and beyond.

Project HELP, Inc. is a unique non-profit that works with dignity and compassion to ease the pain of those who have been affected by rape, violence, crime or sudden loss of a loved one.  Today, more and more Jane Doe’s and John Doe’s are calling Project HELP’s 24/7 Crisis HELPline because they are dealing with the aftermath of their victimization or someone that they love is a survivor of a violent crime. Project HELP is the only State Certified Rape Recovery Center in Collier County, and provides a Sexual Assault Response Team, a Sudden Death Response Team, Court Advocacy/Accompaniment, and Individual Counseling for ALL survivors—children, teens, women, men, and those who have been culturally marginalized.

April is designated nationwide as Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and Project HELP recognizes the need to support and honor survivors of sexual violence during this awareness month by engaging daily educational platforms virtually, in writing, one-to-one, and community-wide events. The goal of SAAM is to bring awareness to our community, your community.

Project HELP falls under the guidance of the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence (FCASV) and we both work together to end sexual violence by educating, creating social change, and bringing awareness to this worldwide public health issue.

This years’ 2022 theme is “Centering Survivors in Care, Community & Change.” This campaign highlights how we as individuals, we as a community can recognize that survivors’ experiences and needs vary by culture and as individuals regardless of the socioeconomic status. Centering the margins, holistically supporting survivors and providing equitable resources to all survivors provides a message that no matter the barriers when you come forward for help and support it will be available. Project HELP works relentlessly to promote a community that values and respects cultural diversity to those that have been historically marginalized and continue to face barriers in accessing support.

In addition to Sexual Assault Awareness Month, every April the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), challenges the Nation to confront and remove barriers of justice for all survivors of crime during National Crime Victim Rights Week (NCVRW). This year NCVRW will be observed the week of April 24-30, 2022. Every April OVC leads communities, in the importance of accomplishments of the survivors’ rights movement and reflect on how far we have come. The 2022 NCVRW theme is, “Rights, access, equity, for all victims. ”This theme is reflective of the SAAM theme-enforcing survivors’ rights, expanding access to services and ensuring equity and inclusion for all.

The month of April is a month of AWARENESS for Project HELP, all survivors, and our community. Project HELP joins forces with Naples Police Department, Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Marco Island Police Department, The City of Naples, Board of County Commissioners, Collier County, Florida, State Attorney’s Office 20^th Judicial Circuit, victim service programs, criminal justice officials, concerned citizens, advocates, and various communities throughout Collier County and the State of Florida in raising awareness of sexual assault, survivors’ rights, by observing Sexual Assault Awareness Month and  National Crime Victim Rights Week, by taking a stand and support survivors.

Can one person make a difference?  One person can make a difference by seeing through an entirely different lens! You can! We can! Our community can! Your community, together can support Centering Survivors in Care, Community & Change and help crime survivors find their justice through Rights, Access and Equity for all victims through an entirely different lens!

We invite YOU to join us not only this April but all year round in empowering, supporting and believing survivors of sexual assault, violence, crime, or loss of a loved one through a traumatic event. For additional information or questions on becoming a BELIEVER please join us and our community partners at Baker Park, April 27, 2022 from 5pm to 7pm to honor and support survivors and their families or contact Project HELP at 239.649.1404 for more information.