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By: Savannah Tipton  Sexual assault often results in no physical injuries to the victim, but this doesn’t make their experience any less traumatic. After an assault, victims may experience significant short-term and long-term effects.
Effects of Sexual Assault:
Sexual assault is often perpetrated by someone the victim knows (acquaintance, friend, family, etc.). The majority of assaults occur at or near a victim’s home (RAINN). Many of us were taught about “stranger danger” in the past and some people may still believe that no one they know “could do something like that.” Unfortunately, we do not get to live in a world free from danger. However, together we can raise our voices to make a change. Start by believing survivors. If someone discloses they have been sexually assaulted, listen and believe them. If they disclose shortly after an assault, encourage them to get an exam done at the hospital. Sexual assault exams are done for free in Indiana and an experienced SANE nurse (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) can collect evidence that may not be available later on. This is also an opportunity for survivors to get medical care, testing, and ongoing support. Referring survivors to community resources is another way to help and you can encourage them to speak with a victim advocate. Victim advocates offer free support, education, and community referrals. Advocates can also answer questions about protective orders and reporting to law enforcement. Want to get more involved? Get out in the community and start volunteering! There are a variety of volunteer opportunities to help survivors near you. Volunteers opportunities generally include fundraising, events, volunteer advocacy, and more. Visit the career tab to learn more about volunteer and internship opportunities at Beacon of Hope Crisis Center. Finally, show survivors you stand with them as an ally by sharing resources, statistics, and other information from services providers. The simple act of sharing a post has the potential to reach someone who may need help. Your voice has power, use it to support survivors. #AllyToSurvivors If you or someone you know is a victim or survivor in need of services, please contact our confidential crisis line at 317-731-6140. Advocates are a confidential source of support available to help survivors. By: Marty Burtt Beacon of Hope Crisis Center’s Foster Pet Program eliminates a very common barrier for domestic violence and/or sexual assault victims. Research has shown that 48% of battered women will delay leaving their abuser because they fear what will happen to their pet(s) after they leave. Pets are a common tool used by abusers to control the victim by threatening, harming, or killing the pet. Our Foster Pet Program gives domestic violence and/or sexual assault victims a temporary, safe home for their furry family members while they work on becoming self-sufficient.
Our volunteer foster families have the unique opportunity to provide much needed help to victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault. Instead of having to choose between leaving their beloved pet with their abuser, or surrender the pet to a shelter, victims can apply for our program and know that their pet is being loved and cared for until it can come back home. Being a foster family offers the companionship of having a pet, without the lifelong commitment. Every year, 68% of abused women report violence towards their pet from their abuser. Our foster families can give love and affection to pets that have experienced their own trauma. If you are interested in learning more about the program or signing up to become a foster family, please click here. By: Shelby Bubnick & Savannah Tipton  Focusing on the positives in life can be difficult after experiencing trauma. An excellent way to lift your spirits is to write down everything you are grateful for. You can do this weekly or daily, whatever works for you and your schedule. Keeping a gratitude journal can improve your mood, make you more resilient, and can even help you live longer. It’s simple! Start your gratitude journal with five things you are grateful for. Repeat this activity at least once a week.
TIPS
By: Shelby Bubnick  After experiencing trauma, you may be healing from injuries or feeling emotionally drained. It is essential to keep your body healthy and active during this time. Whether it happened recently or many years ago, there are many ways you can cope with short-term and long-term effects of trauma. Reactions to trauma can be psychological, emotional, cognitive, physical, and behavioral. Common reactions to trauma are listed below.
Psychological and Emotional
Coping with trauma can be hard to do on your own, do not hesitate to seek professional help. To speak with an advocate and learn more about services at Beacon of Hope Crisis Center please call our crisis line (317) 731-6140. By: The Beacon of Hope Team We want to say thanks to our Speedway PD partners for a really great meeting this week. The energy and excitement felt by both our teams was inspiring. The Chief and our CEO agreed on a renewal partnership through 2020. Speedway Police Department Captain Jason Dierdorff and Sergeant Mirantha Hockemeyer and Beacon of Hope Crisis Center CEO Sandra Ziebold and Director of Victim Advocacy Tiffany Wilson met and reviewed victim services data and engaged in lots of victim services focused conversation. We brought a total of 45 crisis bundles for adults and children that the officers will have on hand for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault crimes. In a moment of fleeing to be safe victims often leave with nothing. These crisis bundles will help meet immediate needs in the community of Speedway. "We want the Speedway community to know we share a passion for helping victims of crime. Beacon of Hope Crisis Center and Speedway PD work together to ensure services are available to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault crimes. Intervening early saves lives. Reach out if another is asserting power and control over you and you are afraid. We can help you." - Sandra K. Ziebold, CEO Beacon of Hope Crisis Center  Beacon of Hope Crisis Center and Speedway Police Department partnership meeting and crisis bundle delivery (L to R) Director of Victim Advocacy Tiffany Wilson, Sergeant Rodney Ferguson, Detective Joe Harmon, Sergeant Mirantha Hockemeyer and Officer Mike Marsteller
 By The Beacon of Hope Team  A Global Giving Movement - November 28, 2017 Please consider Beacon of Hope Crisis Center because domestic violence and sexual assault victims in Central Indiana need support from generous donors like you. As the holiday season kicks off please don’t forget to participate in #GivingTuesday.
On November 28th people across the nation will be joining a movement of end-of-year-giving. As you make your choice of where to place your support at the end of the year, get details about our agency on pages 18 and 19 in the Indiana Business Journal 2018 Giving Guide. Please consider Beacon of Hope Crisis Center because domestic violence and sexual assault victims in Central Indiana need support from generous donors like you. Beacon of Hope Crisis Center is kicking off #GivingTuesday with a challenge. We are asking YOU to donate a crisis bundle for a victim in need. Crisis bundles serve the immediate needs of victims after trauma. You can learn how to make a crisis bundle by visiting our blog. Get a group together and start making a difference today. If you are interested in helping victims receive crisis bundles each month sign up for an easy-give monthly membership. Starting November 27th, donations can be dropped off at 6920 S. East St, Suite B Indianapolis, IN 46227. *Please call (317) 731-6131 before dropping off donations. While you shop on Cyber Monday, please don’t forget to donate a portion of your purchase by choosing Beacon of Hope Crisis Center while shopping with Amazon Smile. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization. Learn more by visiting our website. We appreciate support from the community while we strive to provide services and resources to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Thank you! By Sandra K. Ziebold
By Kristin Scrivens  Introducing Jess, a victim advocate on our criminal justice team! Jess works with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Jess earned her Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University at IUPUI in Spanish and recently completed her Master’s degree in Social Science and Development Studies at Chiang Mai University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Her thesis for her Master’s program was studying violence against women in migrant communities and studying how non-government organizations provide services to women.
Jess loves being a victim advocate because she loves being able to provide emotional support to victims and helping them navigate the criminal justice court system. She’s passionate about being a steady voice during such a hard time in a victim’s life and being able to help them move forward. Jess’s favorite service that Beacon of Hope offers is emergency financial assistance, when we have the funds available. She loves that it’s a tangible and quick way to make such a huge difference in someone’s life. A fun fact about Jess is that she lived in Morocco for two and a half years serving in the Peace Corp. While she was there she worked in youth development and taught English and aerobics. We love your fun spirit and high energy, Jess! Thanks for all you do! By Savannah Tipton  Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault are regularly in situations where they cannot go home or gain access to basic items. To lift this burden, we are constantly preparing crisis bundles to serve those immediate needs.
Creating a crisis bundle can be geared to the specific needs of a victim seeking services or preemptively prepared for victims with a general stock of commonly used items. It is important to think about a victim’s perspective and unique needs when preparing a crisis bundle. Crisis bundles should be prepared with a demographic and geographic location in mind. When making crisis bundles it is helpful to include items that are relevant to the weather or season. For example, when preparing bundles during a season of rain or faced with cold weather adding items such as hats and gloves may be beneficial. When preparing crisis bundles for hot and sunny weather add sunscreen or sunglasses. Everyday items that are taken for granted could easily benefit victims in need. Other considerations when making crisis bundles might include the variance in victims age, ethnicity, gender, if they have children, etc. Crisis Bundles Include:
Items for the crisis bundle are placed in reusable bags that can also contribute to meeting a victim’s needs. Encouraging items could include cards, notebooks, magnets, etc. with sayings such as “You Are Strong” “Think Positive” “Smile” or “Believe in Yourself.” There is no one size fits all way to make a crisis bundle, you may add or take out items to more effectively meet a victim’s needs. On average, a crisis bundle can be made with a small donation of $25. We need your help! You can provide a crisis bundle for a victim each month by signing up for our easy give monthly membership. Easy give memberships provide ongoing funding for essential programs offered by Beacon of Hope Crisis Center. Your monthly donations will go directly towards assisting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Sign up for an easy give monthly membership today! By Sandra K. Ziebold and Merideth Bush  Beacon of Hope is a Christ-centered crisis center. To some, it may sound as though we exclusively offer services to the Christian community or that we impose Christian beliefs on those we serve, but this could not be further from the truth. When we say that we are a Christ-centered agency, we mean that our approach to victim services seeks to imitate the qualities exemplified by Christ’s interactions with the hurting people in his community: qualities such as kindness, respectfulness, non-judgement, and acceptance.
What does this look like in practice? It looks like reaching out to leaders of refugee communities, including those which represent ethnic and religious minorities, so that they know what the laws are regarding intimate partner violence, how to recognize it, and where to find service providers that will respect and accommodate their religious and cultural needs alongside traditional legal and advocacy services. It looks like looking past gender stereotypes to recognize that 1 in 4 men will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime. We welcome and advocate for male victims with the same dedication and compassion we show to female victims. It looks like reaching out to service providers of our immigrant population to make sure they know that they can seek help to escape intimate partner violence regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. It looks like seeking partnerships with interpreters so that we can overcome language barriers. Domestic violence and sexual assault are not limited by languages. The advocacy we offer shouldn’t be either. It looks like recognizing that the LGBTQ+ community suffers from domestic violence and sexual assault with the same frequency and severity as their heterosexual counterparts, and welcoming members of this community with open arms when they choose to seek help. It looks like the relief on the face of a client from a marginalized community when they turn to us at the end of an advocacy appointment, smile for the first time that day and say, “Thank you. I honestly didn’t think I’d find anyone willing to help me.” This is Beacon of Hope’s Christ-centered approach to victim advocacy in action. Regardless of race, religion, gender, culture, sexual orientation, or any other label that may differentiate us, the Christ-like qualities of kindness, respectfulness, non-judgment, and acceptance are the inspiration for our interaction with every client, and lie at the very heart of who we are at Beacon of Hope. |
About this blog
This blog is about our domestic and sexual violence crisis center, Beacon of Hope. We hope you find it full of helpful information, motivation, creativity, serious facts and positivity. We hope that it will help you know what is happening in our center, in our community and with our events. We hope you follow our blog in support of our organization and our mission. Archives
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