Former women’s center: new name, same mission

Situated on the west side of South Thompson Street in Carbondale, Illinois sits the Survivor Empowerment Center, formerly known as ‘The Women’s Center.’ The unassuming brick building, now sporting a new name, maintains the same level of care and commitment to those in need of help.

“We have always accepted men. […] There was a misconception of it just being for women and children. But with the name change, […] now it’s more encompassing and inclusive,” said Sarah Settles, Transitional Housing Case Manager for the Domestic Violence Program.

Less than two blocks from the campus of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, some of the staff fear students aren’t aware of establishment and the services they provide.

“It’s kind of scary because SIU is like, right across the street and they don’t even know we exist,” Settles said.

Staff and volunteers work round-the-clock providing free and confidential rape crisis services, as well as domestic violence services, and a shelter, for anyone in need. Assisting individuals on what may be one of the worst days of their lives is the top priority of the center.

Providing services to the seven southern counties, the Survivor Empowerment Center has satellite offices in Harrisburg and Benton, in addition to the main office and shelter located in Carbondale. In the spirit of helping those in need, the center also has a large referral book at their front desk filled with contact information for various organizations statewide, in the event they receive a call from an individual living outside their service area.

The crisis hotline is usually the first step, according to Settles, and will be answered 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. There is a screening process initiated when an individual makes a call to the hotline. The main purpose of the screening process is to find the best way to help the caller in the most efficient manner possible.

“We get calls from other states, even. They want to leave that state because of a particular situation, and are seeking information,” said Settles.

Other screening questions involve finding out if the caller is in a domestic violence situation, or if they’re homeless, in addition to finding out if the caller has ever stayed at the shelter previously. This is important because there are times when individuals have cause trouble, or been violent, while in the shelter. As a rule, the staff will not allow those individuals back in in an effort to keep residents and staff as safe as possible.

Oftentimes, when needing to escape a bad situation, individuals are held back by the things that they own and not knowing how to get them out of the home, according to Settles. With this in mind, the shelter provides many necessities such as clothing, food and other basic items. For individuals with children, the shelter always tries to get the family into a room of their own, as opposed to those without children possibly having a roommate.

The center provides access to child, adult and legal advocates, child and adult counselors, and prevention educators for their domestic violence and rape crisis departments. Legal advocates assist individuals in filling out paperwork for different situations like no-contact orders, nostalking orders and orders of protection. The legal advocates, however, cannot give legal advice, so the center works very closely with local law firms who take on pro-bono cases to assist beyond their capabilities.

For those leaving a domestic violence situation, case managers are available to each individual to provide services and assistance in getting people back on their feet.

“A lot of times, people don’t even realize that when you’re in a domestic violence situation, you’re so controlled. You lose all your power. You don’t know how to go out and look for a job, especially if they kept you at home,” Settles said.

Finding a job, finding housing, enrolling children into the school system are some of the services the case managers provide. They will help create a resume and cover letter as well as going through a mock interview process to help individuals prepare. The center also arranges for a representative from a local bank to come and speak with shelter residents and help them understand their credit, how to clear up bad credit, the difference between checking and savings, credit cards and other financial aspects.

“For a rape crisis situation, when we get a call, it’s usually a S.A.N.E. nurse from a hospital or something along those lines,” Settles said.

A sexual assault nurse examiner, or S.A.N.E. nurse, “is a Registered Nurse who has received special training so that s/he can provide comprehensive care to sexual assault victims. In addition, s/he is able to conduct a forensic exam and may provide expert testimony if a case goes to trial,” according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) website.

When the center receives a rape crisis call, the screening questions are slightly different than those for help with domestic violence. Individuals will be asked if they’d like someone to go to their location and act as a representative for them.

“Sometimes […] [sexual assault survivors] feel violated by the hospital, or by the individuals there,” Settles indicated.

It often helps survivors to have a representative present who can validate their emotions and help them understand and process those emotions. The center always has someone on-call for rape crisis situations, and these individuals take with them what the center refers to as a ‘go out bag’. These bags contain different items, depending on the situation, to help the survivor feel safe and more at ease.

“They’s bring, you know, if it’s a child …,” Settles sighed, “…horrible. Stuffed animals, a clean outfit for them to put on. Something that makes them feel, you know, comforted… chocolates or whatever they need. Same with adults. We have tons of nice soft jogging outfits, so they’ll feel a little bit of comfort for the moment.” she concluded.

The Survivor Empowerment Center offers services that are one-hundred percent free and confidential. Their main goal is to help anyone in need and never turn anyone away. Counselors and advocates are always available to anyone who needs their services, whatever their individual situation may looks like.

“It affects all walks of life. People have an assumption that it’s just poor people. A lady came here in a Mercedes in a floor length mink coat and said ‘I don’t have a penny to my name, but I had to get out of there,” Settles recalled.