AKRON, Ohio — According to a National Crime Victimization Survey, every 68 seconds someone in our country is sexually assaulted. The majority of sexual assaults occur at or near the victim's home. Hope and Healing Center Survivor Resource Center said that over the past year, it has seen a major increase in needed services across the board.
In someone's darkest moments, in the middle of an abusive situation, or processing trauma, reaching for the phone for help isn't always the first instinct. To protect the victim's identity that shared his story with News 5, we aren't sharing his name or showing his face. He held special rocks in his hands in support of his healing journey as a childhood abuse and rape survivor.
“This is a stone that got me through a suicide attempt,” said the survivor. “I was going through all the reasons why no one needed me and probably would be better if I wasn't there and somehow, I focused on this little rock.”
Over the past year, The Hope and Healing Survivor Resource Center has seen a 42% increase in rape and crisis center services, a 58% increase in advocacy and crisis intervention, a 64% increase in care center visits at Akron Children's Hospital, and 82% percent increase in RCC hotline calls. CEO Teresa Stafford said the increased need for services across the board isn't necessarily a bad thing.
“A lot of times people don't recognize that their experience was a sexual assault, that it was a crime, and giving them that additional information kind of can help them process their experience and then seek services,” Stafford said.
A victim admitting their abuse is one of the hardest steps in their journey.
“As bad as some of the physical stuff was, probably the thing that did the most damage to me physiologically was that no one talked to me as a child,” said the victim. “And no one explained what was happening to me.”
Stafford attributes the spike in calls for help to intentional outreach strategies.
“We went into the different communities, some of the communities that we didn't have relationships with and really started building those relationships so they could see us as a trusted entity on their journey to their survivorship,” Stafford added.
It took this victim 40 years to unpack his trauma and share it with others. Each day he's still learning to live with the horrors of his childhood. But since finding the Hope and Healing Survivor Resource Center, he now knows he's not alone and never has to be alone again.
“I just remember people saying 'I get you,' and that was very impactful for me,” added the survivor. “If I can help someone start sooner, to start to reclaim their life, and not wait decades like I did, then that's a benefit.”
Click here for resources. You can also call Hope and Healing’s Survivor Resource Center’s 24/7 hotline at 330-434-7273.
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