Welcome To The Message Book!

As many of you may already know, the Safe Center, Nassau County's go-to agency for all things domestic violence and sexual assault, has been in the process of discontinuing many of their services, and they are officially closing down as of today, March 14th. While this is a big loss for the community, we fortunately have several other referrals which can be found in the "Domestic (Intimate Partner) Violence" and "Rape/Sexual Assault" referral categories (as well as related categories like "Housing-Domestic Violence"), that deal with these issues. To summarize these resources, I've put together a chart highlighting some of the major domestic violence and sexual assault agencies from NYC to Suffolk including services provided as well as areas served.

The only service that the Safe Center provided that will NOT be covered by any other referrals is the emergency room sexual assault advocates that would meet the clients at Nassau County hospitals. Please note that the SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) Program at North Shore University Hospital (Manhasset) and SAFE (Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner) Program at Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) are still operating and are the best places for someone who has been sexually assaulted to go for medical services. ECLI/VIBES (Victims Information Bureau Suffolk) is still able to send advocates to the SAFE Programs at the Suffolk County hospitals where these programs exist.

Now would be a GREAT time to review the "Intimate Partner Violence (formerly Domestic Violence)" and "Rape and Sexual Assault" sections of the counselor manual, as there is a good chance that we may see an uptick in calls regarding these topics as the Safe Center’s 24/7 crisis line is no longer operating. Please also take some time to review the referrals we have for these categories (particularly the SANE program and SAFE program) so that you will be prepared when you get calls about these topics.

I will continue to check in with various agencies as further developments materialize and will update the referrals as I learn new information. I am deactivating the Safe Center referral in InfoBase and have removed all information about it from the corresponding referrals and sections in the counselor manual. The referrals in InfoBase will always have the most up-to-date information. Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions in the meantime, especially if my chart is confusing.

-Frank