Support and advocacy

Amira James, the program director, left, and Kyla Lucas, the sexual assault counselor, right, pose for a photo in a room at the Marion County Sexual Assault Center on Southwest First Avenue in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

A little more than a year ago, Creative Services, Inc., a local nonprofit that had provided services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault for nearly 50 years, closed its doors. In recent weeks, the Wear Gloves nonprofit purchased that agency’s former domestic violence center building and will use it to expand its Dignity House emergency intake center for unsheltered people.

In the meantime, the Marion County Sexual Assault Center has been working since January to provide services to local victims of sexual assault.

The “Gazette” did a question-and-answer session via email with some of the key people working to build awareness and support for the new center: Sara Lambert, Kali Stauss-Lourenco, Elizabeth White and Angie Clifton.

Lambert noted that she is a founding member of the MCSAC and secretary of the board of directors.

“I’m a prosecutor’s wife and felt called to do my part in ensuring these victims had somewhere safe and secure in Marion County,” she stated.

“I am a founding board member of MCSAC and attorney/owner of Stauss Law, PA. I, along with my founding board members, identified the emergency need for a Marion County-ran center to help victims of the heinous crime of sexual assault become survivor’s,” Stauss-Lourenco said.

White also is a founding member of the board of directors.

“I am a prosecutor in the Special Victims Unit here in Marion County. I have been prosecuting sexual offenders for almost nine years and can attest to the profound importance of having quality services in place for victims of sexual assault to heal,” White shared.

Lambert, Stauss-Lourenco and White together curated the answers to these questions posed by the “Gazette.”

Who are the partners in this endeavor? The Marion County Hospital District, the United Way of Marion County, and Haven of Lake & Sumter Counties.

What steps/changes have occurred since your inception in January? Once we gained our nonprofit status and established a solid board of directors, our first step was securing a location. That’s where the Marion County Hospital District came in. Through a grant, they provided us with the space that is now our center, this can be considered our first big win. Our second big win was securing the funding through the United Way of Marion County. We’re excited that they chose us as one of this year’s funding partners. Securing those dollars wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Dawn Westgate and Brittany Cecil at Kimberly’s Center for Child Protection and we are beyond grateful for their guidance in this endeavor.

What are the next steps? At this juncture we have three primary areas of focus: engaging with community stakeholders, building a fundraising/donor base, and hiring an executive director.

What services are currently being offered? Services are currently being provided in partnership with the Haven of Lake & Sumter Counties. We are so thankful for their partnership and support as we get up and running. Services include individual counseling and therapy, a 24/7 crisis intervention helpline, assistance with injunctions for protection, and sexual assault forensic exams

Why are these services needed? Marion County has 292 sexually motivated cases pending in its court system and, per the Florida Department of Health, one of the highest rates of arrest for sexual assault. Those victims need somewhere to go where they can get a forensic exam instead of waiting in an emergency room for hours so they can get crisis intervention services and counseling because they experienced something deeply traumatic. And also, so we can educate our community and bring awareness to the realities of sexual violence.

What kind of response have you had from clients? Clients are relieved to have a clean, safe space to seek services. They have reported being treated with compassion and respect by the advocates and nurses, which makes a huge difference after a traumatic event.

What kind of response have you had from first responders? Local law enforcement has noted a huge improvement in the response to sexual assault in Marion County. From improvement in the physical space where sexual assault forensic exams are being conducted to the professionalism of the nurses conducting the exams.

How can the community help? Donations and advocacy. We’re participating in Give4Marion this year and we’re hoping to use that as more than a fundraiser but a platform to make our official debut in Marion County.

Please share anything else you wish to add. Since we’ve started reaching out to the leaders in our community, we’ve begun to realize there’s some confusion between the Marion County Sexual Assault Center and CASA (Community Action Stops Abuse) Marion. CASA Marion solely handles domestic violence victims in our community, and they do it magnificently. However, we do not operate under CASA Marion’s umbrella of services.

According to the MCSAC website, “It is a scary statistic, but 1 in 4 women and 1 in 26 men have experienced some type of sexual violence/attempted sexual violence throughout their lifetime. Nationwide, 81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime.”

“I decided to join this board due to the emergent need in Marion County with all the changes to what was our sexual abuse center. If one victim is not served, we fail as a community,” stated MCSAC board member Angie Clifton, senior vice president and market president of MainStreet Community Bank.

“There are victims daily in our community who are ashamed of the crime committed against them and/or afraid of the person who acted against them. We must have resources and solutions to help them be safe and begin to heal,” Clifton said.

“And we need leaders who CARE about the well-being of others, who want to engage solutions to make things better and advocate for those who need help. We need donors to keep the ‘work’ moving as in any business. It costs money to resolve the needs of this community,” she added.

“The Marion County Sexual Assault Center is a safe place for anyone who has endured the heinous crime of sexual assault,” said Stauss-Lourenco. “Our goal is to guide victims through their time of need and help make them survivors.”

The Marion County Sexual Assault Center 24/7 Crisis Hotline number is (352) 633-5563. In an emergency, always call 911. The center is located at 1121 SW 1st Ave., Ocala. Visit the website at marionsexualassaultcenter.org

[Image courtesy Marion County Sexual Assault Center]