What has Reach done for Clay County in 2009?

Reach Of Clay County is your local Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault program.  So, what does that mean, and what do we do?

First and foremost… we have a shelter that opened in 2001 and can accommodate 11 women and children.  Our beds have been slept in 2,275 times in 2009.  Our shelter takes in women and children who face homelessness.   We have found that if you peel back the reasons for the homelessness, invariably you will find abuse at the core, therefore, we are committed to house and assist these families in gaining independence and safety.

The following numbers (in parenthesis) are the number of times services were provided by Reach for the year 2009.

We have a crisis line available for the community that receives calls from women, children and men in need (553 calls), we provide crisis counseling (924 times) as well as refer to professional counseling (67 times). Weekly support groups are held on Tuesday evenings; Sexual Assault Support group at 5:30 and Domestic Violence Support group at 7:00.

Information and referrals are a big part of what we do (1224 times). We have referred to DSS for Domestic Violence TANF funds (8 times) and have provided emergency financial assistance (65 times).  Advocacy; which means giving active support for a cause or position, includes Court Advocacy (348 times) and Personal Advocacy (528 times).  We’ve accompanied clients to the hospital (14 times) and provided transportation (140 times) as well as provided help with Victims Compensation assistance (16 times).

Our thrift store is well visited and supported by the community.  The thrift store has several purposes, culminating in help for those in need in our community.  Having clothing and household items on hand and available to those who have immediate needs has been a great resource for our community partners.  We have opened our doors in the middle of the night to help the people who experienced catastrophic events.   The proceeds from donations that we sell go directly to assist our programs enabling us to keep our services intact even with state and federal funding cuts.

Reach is an integral piece of our county’s services that keep our families safe.