Years of hard work, fundraising and dreaming paid off for several local organizations last week.
Members of Riverside Health Care, Riverside Community Counselling Services and the Rainy River District Victim Services Program (RRDVSP) celebrated the opening of the sexual assault and patient care area Friday morning at La Verendrye General Hospital.
The new area, which is a program of Riverside Community Counselling, is a private and comfortable space for those who are dealing with the aftermath of sexual assault in Fort Frances and the surrounding area.
Riverside Health Care nurse manager Lori Green said the new space is a dream come true.
“This has been a [years-long] goal for us to have something for the victims in Fort Frances,” she said.
“We have looked for spaces for a long time. We have done sexual assaults in the emergency room and we were looking for a more private area, more secure, something to take the victim out of the space of the emergency room.”
The new space is a far cry from the emergency room in terms of comfortability and privacy.
Green noted that the breast education team were gracious enough to offer to share their existing space to make room for the new area, which has been decked out as much as possible to be as safe and secure an area as it can be, considering what victims have gone through.
“When a victim is going through a sexual assault kit, like collecting evidence, they need some distraction,” Green said.
“It’s a long examination. It’s usually a few hours, and so it’s very intense and very emotional, because they’ve already lived the trauma, and then they have to go through it again, and then they have another step with the police after that.”
In order to provide as much comfort and support as possible, the space has a new examination bed, charging cords for cellphones, a docking station so music can be played and extra clothes, as well as an additional room where a small fridge can be kept to provide drinks and snacks to both the victim and their support people, including Community Counselling Services and the RRDVSP.
As the new room is in the diagnostic imaging area of the hospital proper, there’s additional security the emergency room can’t necessarily provide victims.
“A lot of the evidence collection does occur at night, so we also have to have safety,” Green said.
“So we’re behind locked doors. That’s another safety issue, so this was a perfect spot for this.
“It’s a very confidential space,” Green continued.
“This is forensic evidence that we’re collecting, so it’s really dear to my heart that these victims be taken care of.”
Green noted that the addition of the sexual assault and patient care area has been a dream of her and her team of collaborators for a long time, but that the dream for the long term is even bigger.
“My dream is for Fort Frances to have a sexual assault centre for all those victims,” Green said.
“Because sometimes people don’t want to come to different places, or [think] the hospital is sickness, and it’s not. It’s to collect evidence and to do it in a confidential and quiet environment.”
As the new area is a program of Riverside Community Counselling Services, Green noted their staff, including community family violence counsellor Jacquee Loerzel, were instrumental in getting the space up and running, doing more than just providing the furniture for the waiting area.
“Jacquee is very passionate also about women’s violence and sexual assaults,” Green noted.
“And so then they proposed a grant and they raised money.”
Riverside Community Counselling Services was able to implement the program with the help of a generous donation from the North West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), and Loerzel said that the opening was a victory for everyone involved, especially when it comes to helping survivors of sexual assault.
“We’re really excited to be able to offer this space,” Loerzel said.
“This is an initiative that comes through Riverside Community Counselling Services so we were able to secure the funding to be able to provide the space, so we’re just really happy that those who are affected by sexual violence are going to have a safe, confidential, comfortable space where they can get their medical and support services needs met.”
RRDVSP program manager Peggy Loyie agreed that the space is necessary and important for people in the district.
“We’re definitely excited about this because I’ve been with victim services, it’ll be 11 years in March,” she noted.
“We know what women have gone through in coming in, having to go into emerg. You’re trying to do your best to keep the confidentiality piece the best you can, but it’s really difficult when you’re in a part where the general public is coming in and you want people to feel safe and it’s really difficult to do that, especially when they’ve come from such a traumatic event.
“So to have this room aside for people, we’re just feeling so good about that on behalf of the people who will have to utilize that. I really applaud the work of Jacquee and everybody involved here, of Lisa, Lori, just for their work and recognizing the need and allowing us to work with them,” added Loyie.
Green said that the room will make a big difference in the lives of those who use it, even as the working group dreams of having more resources in the future to be able to help more people more efficiently.
“To me, it’s great,” she said.
“There’s just so much, it’s like a gift. I’ve felt really honoured that the Community Counselling have chosen this area.”
