Sure Helpline center recognized
EL CENTRO – For the past six and a half years, Sure Helpline Crisis Center Executive Director Margaret Sauza has been at the forefront of advocating for victims of sexual assault.
As heart-wrenching as the work may be, Sauza also said it can be just as rewarding helping empower victims during times of extreme duress.
Nor have her and the crisis center’s efforts gone unnoticed, as evidenced by the recent announcement that the organization was nominated by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia as the 56th Assembly District’s Nonprofit of the Year.
“These things help me understand that what I’m doing is right,” Sauza said, referring to the recognition. “I’m not going to change; I’m going to keep fighting.”
As part of the recognition, Sauza will join other statewide recipients for a ceremony in their honor on June 6 in Sacramento during California Nonprofits Day, hosted by the CalNonprofits organization.
Founded in 1971, Sure Helpline Crisis Center provides intervention and prevention services that aim to reduce incidents of sexual violence. It works with a variety of local stakeholders to help improve the quality of life for those victimized by sexual violence.
During her tenure, Sauza has overseen the growth of the non-profit from two part-time employees to 12 full-time employees. Its operating budget has also grown from $170,000 to about $700,000 during those six and a half years.
Expanded efforts have also come to include suicide prevention outreach among youth, the monitoring of court-ordered supervised visitation on weekends and weekdays, as well as providing support for individuals in custody.
“These are some of the new things that I’ve brought in,” Sauza said.
Lately, SHCC sta has been visiting the Imperial Regional Detention Center three times a week to provide information and support for detainees who may be victims of sexual assault or are grieving as a result of another hardship.
The center was also recognized on Wednesday by Imperial Valley College o cials for its continued e orts to employ IVC students with disabilities.
Currently, SHCC employs two such students who have proven to be a valuable asset around the non-profit’s El Centro o ce and to its outreach e orts in the prisons, while plans call for the potential hiring of more.
Having completed a number of its stated goals, SHCC’s board is now considering establishing a scholarship program.
Accompanying these positive developments are troubling increases in the center’s overall caseload, as well as increased allegations of molestation of children by family members, Sauza said.
Additionally, at least one incident of an alleged sexual assault is reported to the center on a weekly basis, she said.
“The caseloads we are dealing with are mounting at a very fast rate,” Sauza said, adding that the center’s services are provided on a confidential basis, and it does not force clients to testify or press charges against their alleged assailants. “We are only interested in the welfare of the victims.”
It is those reported increases in
caseloads that have prompted Sauza to advocate for increased services for victims, as well as continued calls for justice.
While her continued advocacy may at times ruffle feathers in the community, Sauza said she continues to enjoy the backing of the non-profit’s board of directors and sees no reason to change her strategy.
“I am an advocate, and I will fight to the end,” she said.