×
X logo

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

You may opt-out anytime by clicking "unsubscribe" from the newsletter or from your account.

Sexual Assault Help Center Offers Free Counseling, Advocacy for All Victims

Staff members of the Upper Ohio Valley Sexual Assault Help Center in Wheeling are, seated from left, prevention specialist Lesley Prince, executive director Megan Gallaway Palmer and hotline coordinator Ashley Garlow; standing, adult advocate Lisa Lohsl, left, and child advocate Janet Kowalski. The center offers free services to women, men, girls and boys who have experienced any type of sexual violence or abuse, providing advocacy, counseling, resources, referrals and a crisis hotline.

The mother of the beloved children’s television host Fred “Mister” Rogers once told him, when tragedy strikes or “scary things” happen,  “look for the helpers;” they are always there.

In the cases of rape, sexual assault and child sexual abuse that occur all too often in the Ohio Valley, “helpers” are available 24 hours a day seven days a week at the Upper Ohio Valley Sexual Assault Help Center in Wheeling.

The United Way agency was founded 41 years ago after local social service and mental health leaders met and determined there was a need for a 24-hour crisis hotline and support for rape victims, said Helen Wilhelm, who has served for 25 years on the board.

The need is greater now than ever. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week launched a community support package on sexual violence prevention, citing about one in five women have experienced rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. The CDC also states one in four girls and one in six boys will experience some form of sexual abuse before they turn 18.

“The need is still there, and all the staff we have is very busy, so we know it is still a need and hope to continue this,” Wilhelm said.

Staff members have worked with victims from some of the most high-profile crimes the Ohio Valley has seen, to cases in which a victim’s experience never was heard outside the center’s walls. The center serves women, men, girls and boys in Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall and Wetzel counties and is one of nine rape crisis centers in West Virginia. They will serve clients from other states, too.

“We turn no one away,” Wilhelm said.

Located on the second floor of the Ohio Valley Medical Center Nurses’ Residence, the nonprofit agency has five employees who work during the week and seven volunteers who log four-hour shifts answering the after-hours hotline, which is 800-884-7245.

In addition to the hotline, the center provides advocacy, which means staff members give resources and physical support, such as going to the hospital or court hearings. It also offers group counseling, individual counseling and community education in the form of professional trainings and outreach to schools and community groups.

“We offer all these different services, and they’re all free of charge,” said Megan Gallaway Palmer, the center’s new executive director.

A 15-member board of directors hired Palmer in April, following several directors who didn’t pan out after longtime executive director Linda Reeves left in 2014. The Wheeling Park High School graduate has a Master of Public Health degree from Kent State University and a communications degree from West Virginia University.

“We’re very excited to have her. She has tremendous credentials, and she is enthusiastic and engaging in the community. We just think she’s a great face for the organization,” said board president D.J. McGlaughlin, a Wheeling attorney.

“It’s a great opportunity to do some really, really important work,” Palmer said.

Wheeling native Megan Gallaway Palmer is the new executive director of the Upper Ohio Valley Sexual Assault Help Center.
Photos by Betsy Bethel

The board’s current goal is awareness.

“The Sexual Assault Help Center is such a great service for the community. I really don’t think a lot of people know about it,” said Marian Martin of St. Clairsville, who became a hotline volunteer six years ago after retiring as a Union Local High School music teacher and seeing the call for volunteers in the newspaper. She is on call eight hours every weekend and continues because she feels she has made a difference in victims’ lives.

“There are a lot of people who need help and sometimes don’t report it; I thought maybe I could help them,” Martin said.

Holding fundraisers is one way the board is hoping to get the word out about the center. Last fall, the center hosted the Heal to Heel 5K walk and run on the Warwood Trail, which was its first fundraiser in many years and was a success, according to McGlaughlin.

Another fundraiser, a quarter auction, will take place this Saturday at the Nurses’ Residence auditorium. Doors open at 11 a.m., and the auction will take place from noon to 2 p.m.

The agency operates on grants from the West Virginia Victims of Crime Act, West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services, the United Way and other grants, plus some private donations and fundraisers.

Palmer said fundraisers help provide art supplies and games for the children to play during sessions, snacks and beverages for the support groups, and new undergarments and clothing for sexual assault victims to wear home from the hospital.

“We’re always looking for donations to make victims feel more comfortable when they’re here,” Palmer said.

A SUCCESS STORY

Four years ago, an Ohio Valley mother was told the unthinkable had happened: Her preschool-age daughter had been sexually molested by her biological father, whom she visited on weekends. The mother, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of her minor daughter, immediately called the police, and her daughter underwent a physical exam at a local hospital that day, followed by a forensic interview at Harmony House Children’s Advocacy Center.

Harmony House then referred the mother and child to the Sexual Assault Help Center for advocacy and counseling.

“We receive referrals from Harmony House, law enforcement, DHHR (Department of Health and Human Resources), schools and some parents call us on their own,” said Janet Kowalski, who has worked as the center’s child advocate for four years.

Kowalski, who has a master’s degree in mental health counseling, met with the girl every week for two and one-half years, while the girl’s mother received counseling as a secondary victim from Reeves.

“Janet’s been wonderful to her,” said the mom in a face-to-face interview Friday. She attributed the strides made by her daughter, now 8, in school, attitude, physical and emotional health to the counseling she has received. Frequent bedwetting has disappeared; grades and communication have improved. Kowalski and Reeves attended every court hearing with them, and because of Kowalski’s testimony, the girl did not have to take the stand and her father is now in prison. The mom and daughter also attended separate group counseling sessions every other Wednesday for two years.

Said Kowalski: Parents in the group “get the feeling they are not alone, there are other parents going through the same heartbreak and challenges they’re going through, their children aren’t the only children going through that.” It’s a safe place to vent, support each other and “learn techniques to help the children heal.”

Of her young client, Kowalski said: “Her basic personality is very resilient. … She learned it wasn’t her fault. That’s something I work on with all the kids. We talk about why you thought it was your fault, and why you know now it was not your fault. … You validate their feelings and give them a place where they know, ‘If I want to talk about something that’s uncomfortable I will, but I don’t have to.'”

Kowalski noted that while statistics show more girls than boys are sexually abused, many times her caseload includes more boys, some of whom are teens.

The young girl, when asked about her time at the center, used the word “happy” frequently. On their way out, the mom asked Kowalski if they could come to a group session even though they hadn’t attended since last year.

They parted ways with smiles and “See you next Wednesday!”

These are a few of the books available to children in the child’s advocate room at the Sexual Assault Help Center.

MORE HELP

In addition to providing counseling to child and teen victims and children who are secondary victims (such as siblings of victims), the Sexual Assault Help Center also serves adults who are sexual violence victims. Lisa Lohsl is the adult victim advocate and also has served the agency as the prevention specialist, hotline coordinator and a general victim advocate. She recently graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Ohio University Eastern.

“I would like to get people to be able to know that they can survive and overcome this and end up thriving from it,” Lohsl said of her work at the center.

If necessary, the center can bring in Jessica Bozenske, a licensed independent clinical social worker, to work with clients, as well.

Ashley Garlow, hotline coordinator and general victim advocate with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, previously worked with troubled youth at a residential treatment facility and has been with the agency about a month. She said she is excited about the “opportunity to provide the clients with resources and ways that they can help themselves get back on track.

“I love the mental health field … and I find a passion for helping those who can’t help themselves in the moment,” she said.

Hotline volunteers go through eight hours of training annually and are required to work two four-hour shifts a month for six months. To be a volunteer, Garlow said, a person should be dedicated to helping others, have the ability and willingness to learn, and be compassionate, caring and professional.

“Our first priority (on the hotline) is to make sure the victim is in a safe space,” Palmer said. After that, the most important role of a hotline volunteer is to listen. Sometimes the caller will end up coming in to receive additional services, but many times, they just need to talk.

“All you have to do is listen to people. Anyone can do it if they’re willing to listen and take the time. You don’t even have to leave the house,” Martin said, noting the calls are forwarded from a communications center to whoever is on call.

Photo by Betsy Bethel
Janet Kowalski presents a child sexual abuse lecture during a recent crisis hotline volunteer training.

Michelle Oliver of Wheeling was one of four new and two veteran volunteers at a training session on June 9. Having recently left her accounting career with the possibility of going back to school for social work, she heard Kowalski being interviewed on a local radio program the day before the training and called to sign up.

“It’s just such a critical need in our society that people who have experienced the trauma of a sexual assault, they need help and the first thing they need to know is it’s not their fault. It’s something so critical for our society to face, to not hide it or bury it,” Oliver said.

PREVENTION

Another facet of the raising awareness  is through prevention and education.

Lesley Prince is the brand new prevention specialist, tasked with providing educational programs to children from preschool through high school, as well as on college campuses. She can provide dating violence prevention programs, anti-bullying education, information on sexual harassment and consent, internet safety and programs for very young children to help them recognize “safe touches” versus “unsafe touches.”

CONTACT

To get help or for information, visit http://www.sexualassaulthelpcenter.com, call 304-234-8519 or email megan@sexualassaulthelpcenter.com.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today