Hospital Accompaniment
Accompaniment
services offered by the Women's Center can be accessed by the victim, law
enforcement, hospital personnel or other community resources at the time of the
assault or any time thereafter by contacting our 24 hour crisis line or the
business office during working hours. Once contacted, trained staff and
volunteers are prepared to meet the victim at the hospital, business office, or
other safe place within the community. At the request of the victim, law
enforcement or medical personnel, a victim will be accompanied to, or met at,
the hospital for medical examination, law enforcement inquiries or to provide
support to the victim and/or family members. The Center's counselor
provides counseling, emotional support, and advocacy with medical and law
enforcement personnel while at the hospital. The Center also makes
follow-up contact with the victim to ascertain the victim's status and need or
desire for further assistance.
Legal Accompaniment
Legal
accompaniment services are available to anyone in need. These services
include accompaniment to other community resources such as law enforcement,
Victim-Witness, the District Attorney, criminal court proceedings, Probation,
medical appointments or other social service agencies. If a client is
involved with the criminal justice system due to the assault, the client will
meet with our Criminal Justice Advocate. The advocate will explain the
court and judicial process, secure a law enforcement report, support any
decision the client has made about testifying, assist the client with
preparation of a victim impact statement, accompany the client to any
questioning by the District Attorney, and provide accompaniment services to any
other agency within the criminal justice process. Accompaniment may be
accomplished by the Criminal Justice Advocate or a specially trained volunteer
within the Legal Services Program of the Women's Center. All contacts with
these agencies are at the request of the victim by signed release and are
offered to all victims requesting crisis intervention services from the agency.
A trained, bilingual, staff member is available for those
clients from the Latino community that need assistance.
