Janis Finds Her Voice

On the surface, everything seemed to be going according to plan for 23-year-old Janis. Her dream of attending college was becoming a reality.  However, Janis had a secret that was slowly destroying everything she had worked so hard to accomplish.

A year earlier, she had been raped by a classmate. She never told a soul.  She pretended nothing had happened and told herself to shake it off and move forward with her life. But depression and anxiety had become so severe that she was unable to focus on her classes.

Fortunately, Janis found Sexual Assault Services (SAS) at the Crisis Center of  

Tampa Bay.  There, she set a goal for herself: to find her voice - and to feel safe and supported enough to tell the police.  SAS Advocates helped her explore options  that would help her reach her goal. Janis began with counseling at the Crisis Center's Corbett Trauma Center. 
 
It took some time, but finally Janis asked SAS staff for help in reporting the rape  

to the police.  Through the help of the Crisis Center's Corbett Trauma Center, Empowerment Services and SAS, she was able to share her story.  The responding officer agreed to meet with her and an SAS Advocate in the SAS office at the Tampa Police Department.

It took 4 hours to complete the police report.  Afterward, Janis explained that although she was tired, she felt a strong sense of relief and accomplishment, "I could not have accomplished this goal without the help of the Crisis Center and the SAS staff".

Last year, over 450 individuals in our community turned to Sexual Assault and Empowerment services at the Crisis Center for help in their time of crisis. If you are interested in learning more about how the Crisis Center helps people in our community, we'd like to invite you to take a tour of the Crisis Center. Click HERE  

to see a list of upcoming tour dates.