By Sandra K. Ziebold

Beacon of Hope Crisis Center provides victim advocacy services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.  Our victim advocacy team provides victims with emotional support and help finding resources.  Our advocates help victims with filling out paperwork and sometimes go to court with victims.  In an effort to best help and get information for victims we reach out to other collaborative partners and organizations such as social service agencies and law enforcement for criminal justice assistance.  We have a crisis call hotline team that fields incoming crisis calls.  Our team provides assistance with obtaining safe housing, victim advocacy, court advocacy, protective orders, medical and dental care, counseling, emergency hotel stays and many other necessary services through our advocacy programs.

A domestic violence victim called BOH in need of financial assistance so she could have reliable transportation to get back and forth to work. Through our much needed Victim Assistance Fund and our wonderful partnership with another local Domestic Violence organization, we were able to help assist her in obtaining the financial assistance she needed to solve her car issues, while continually helping the woman move towards self-sufficiency.
 
Victim Advocate
Beacon of Hope Crisis Center

After a few reschedules of the protective order, a victim of intimate partner violence was finally able to have her day in court! With the assistance of an attorney and advocates, she was able to express concerns for safety and why the order is needed. After a few minutes into the hearing, the Magistrate granted the order and indicated to the abuser that if the order was violated—rather it be directly from the abuser or via a third party—that criminal charges would be filed on behalf of the protected party per the Magistrate’s request.
 
To know that the protective order truly meant something more than a piece of paper gave the victim a little more hope and trust within the criminal justice system. Thus far, no violations have been made; whereas before the order was granted there were many violations of the initial Ex Parte Order. This is just step one for the victim; as the case remains open, there will be many more steps to take. She is still working with her BOH advocate and with this advocacy assistance and support, these steps will slowly become easier to take.
 
Senior Victim Advocate
Beacon of Hope Crisis Center

Email sent to our CEO...

Today I spoke with a very kind human being in your call center. Katie was so compassionate. I was not really able to use your services as we identified I live in another state. Yet God must have guided me to you just so I could have some much needed comfort from the kindness of a stranger.

I suffer from a lot of trauma. And I try to advocate for people who have mental illnesses as a result. So often we become repeated victims of Abuse because of our handicaps and past. And I need a lot of help and resources.

Your site is so hopeful. And courageous. How it is to find the strength to find faith and hope when you are so broken down is incredibly hard. What you are doing to empower victims of abuse is beautiful. I just wanted to write you and thank you. And may God bless you who suffer yet still find it in your hearts to help others. You do provide hope. You do!!!!

Thank you so very much.
Love,
XXXX

Denim Day is a movement to prevent sexual violence through education and public awareness.  April 27th is a call to action for all people to come together by wearing denim as a visible sign of protest against sexual violence. 

By participating in Denim Day this April, you can play a role in the prevention of sexual violence. We're asking community members, elected officials, businesses and students to make a social statement by wearing denim on April 27th.  Wear jeans as a visible means of protest against misconceptions that surround sexual assault.

A ruling by the Italian Supreme Court is how Denim Day came about.  In this ruling a rape conviction was sadly overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped her rapist remove them, thereby implying consent.  The women in the Italian Parliament joined in solidarity wearing jeans the next day in support of the victim.  Denim Day was born.  In response to this case a movement evolved and now this is an annual event and wearing jeans on this day is a symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual assault.  An L.A. social service agency was the first to establish a Denim Day in the US.

Everyone on the Beacon of Hope team is wearing denim on #DenimDay April 27th to show our support and to do our part to help raise awareness and dispel harmful misinformation about sexual violence and survivors.  Join us in raising awareness about sexual violence and consider donating funds to support our victim advocacy programs to help survivors.  Invite others to wear jeans along with us for a day.

Donations can be made online or can be sent to:  Beacon of Hope Center for Women, Inc., P.O. Box 34318, Indianapolis, IN 46234.  If you have any questions, contact us at (317)731-6131.  If you are in crisis, call our hotline at (317)731-6140.  For specific questions related to Sexual Assault ask to speak with our Director of Victim Advocacy Services.

Thank you for showing your support for services for survivors of sexual assault on Denim Day, throughout Sexual Assault Awareness Month and all year round!

Your participation on #DenimDay does the following:

1.  Creates a supportive force field that makes it possible for sexual assault survivors to reach out for help
2.  Promotes prevention through education
3.  Encourages change both at an institutional and societal level
4.  Makes a statement and when enough of us do it; we make a massive statement

Thanks for making a positive difference!

Please help us raise this funding to purchase critically needed case management software for our domestic violence crisis center.  Our Domestic Violence Victim Advocacy Services and Programs have grown in demand to the capacity that we need this critical software to best track crisis client data and to best analyze, report and provide continual service improvement. 

Will you join our Crowd March and Donate Now?!  Please share this message and encourage others to help us reach our goal.

Narrative about a recent clients success:

A client called Beacon of Hope to speak to someone that could help her in her abusive relationship. She was having a hard time being strong and not going back to him. She decided to call Beacon of Hope to reach out for help. Over the past couple of months, the advocate has helped her file a protective order, has been a trustworthy person for the client to talk to, and has helped her look for apartments that would insure her safety. She is now feeling more self-worth, confident, and is living in a safe location where her abuser does not know where she is. She is going to start school soon and has a positive outlook on her future.