Niagara Sexual Assault Centre facing an ‘urgent need for service’
Group also hopes to expand service to Grimsby area
Niagara Sexual Assault Centre offers a different therapeutic model to many of its counterparts — every individual that walks through its doors, regardless of when the assault or violence occurred, receives 30 free trauma therapy sessions.
The first phase focuses on the development of safety and stabilization, handling symptoms and psycho-education. The next — held two months later — looks at managing memories and its impact on day-to-day life.
The final sessions work to bring those phases together, developing and increasing confidence and selftrust.
Each are lead by specialized therapists who are trauma-trained and trauma-informed said NSAC human resource manager, Tricia Cosgrove.
“We know that the services we provide are so helpful and just the feedback we get from clients, we see the change happening within them. We see how much good the process does for them,” she said.
“They’re able to handle and look at life in a different way.”
Understanding the benefits to its services is a “great spot to be in,” but it’s also a difficult challenge, with the centre wait-list consistently around five months. It’s busy enough to hire five additional councillors, as there continues to be an “urgent need for service.”
The non-profit organization receives about 65 per cent of its funding from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. Its relies on fundraising and community support for the rest.
But for now, Cosgrove said the hope is it can raise enough funds to bring one more therapist onto its staff, in addition to other initiatives focusing on new programs and expanding public education.
A large majority of its counselling sessions are held at its St. Catharines site, but NSAC has also established locations throughout the region, making it more accessible for residents. Each therapist on staff has an outreach site, covering Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Niagara Falls, Welland and St. Catharines.
One area in need is the Grimsby-Beamsville region, and Cosgrove said it would like to have someone there at least once a week.
“That’s our next initiative and what we’re focusing on. We’re busy and we’d love to address the needs of everyone in the community,” she said. “It makes such a difference for folks that don’t have access to transport to be able to access a counsellor closer to where they are.”
It’s still fairly early in the fundraising efforts, not only because NSAC is a non-profit and “can’t offer huge salaries,” but because it can be difficult to find therapists who have the required background experience.
The demand for services tends to ebb and flow said Cosgrove but its waiting list has remained fairly steady at the five-month mark. There are times when it will see an increase in calls, when certain news or storylines trigger a person into wanting to speak about something they had previously went through.
At the start of the #MeToo movement in 2017, Cosgrove said the centre was “flooded with calls” from every demographic, from young people to those in their 80s.
“It’s generational. You didn’t talk about certain things so it can be hard for certain individuals to do that and also culturally it can be an issue. There’s a lot of reasons why people don’t disclose and it has to be when they’re ready,” she said.
“It can provide that almost permission or recognition of, ‘that happened to me, I need to talk to someone about it.’ ”
For the organization, it is also about keeping up with the constantly changing world, with a growing increase of concerns around social media, specifically people being filmed with their knowledge which is a “big thing.”
“It’s really eye opening when you see the prevalence of it and how much it occurs,” she said.
That leads into some of the centre’s work outside its counselling program, such as its public education program. Schools with the District School Board of Niagara and Niagara Catholic District School Board have brought NSAC councillors into its classrooms to speak about social media dangers.
In many cases, parents and caregivers don’t know much about child luring and sex exploitation or even “want to know” but Cosgrove said that’s where the education piece and age-appropriate conversations need to start.
Recognizing the dangers and understanding how to combat it is “so important.”
“It’s younger and younger. Kids have access to technology and that’s a fact. It’s not changing, it’s not going away,” she said.
“Not to frighten kids or frighten parents … to be aware of and that’s where we come in and just educate them.”
Support is available through Niagara Sexual Assault Centre crisis line 24 hours a day at 905-682-4584.
We know that the services we provide are so helpful ... We see how much good the process does for them.
TRICIA COSGROVE NIAGARA SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE