LAWTON — Lawton is looking for people interested in serving on the city’s Sexual Assault Response Team, a long-term project to help assault victims.
The SART team aims to establish a centralized care center where survivors will be given a safe haven, examined and cared for after the assault and beyond to ensure healing, city officials said in a press release. The team is seeking victim advocates and sexual assault nurse examiners, also known as SANE nurses.
Advocates are trained volunteers who want to help victims, survivors and their families, according to the announcement.
“The support of an advocate means the survivor not only receives all this support, but they also gain someone who is on their side. Someone who is nonjudgmental, will listen and empathize,” said Kerrie Mathews, executive director of Marie Detty Youth and Family Services.
The program also needs volunteer SANE nurses. These volunteers are registered nurses who have been trained to provide comprehensive health care for victims of sexual assault.
“Nurses are human too, so they understand how to treat the survivors as humans, especially after such a traumatic event,” said Christina Thomas, emergency department director at Southwestern Medical Center and director of the SANE program. “It is important for the SANEs to be able to comfort the survivor by providing them with a change of clothes, clean shower and a toiletry bag. It helps the survivors feel human again.”
Fort Sill’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response Prevention program, which is part of the Lawton project, works to eliminate harassment and assault by creating a climate that respects the dignity of every member of the U.S. Army family, according to the announcement.
“While Fort Sill has a SHARP Resource Center that offers centralized care for survivors of sexual assault, we rely on outside sources to conduct forensic exams,” said program manager Leslie Watts. “The idea of the Comanche County SART initially came about to improve services to survivors by increasing support to forensic exam capabilities.”
The SART team is also seeking funding for a centralized care center, whose location will not be disclosed to protect patients’ safety and confidentiality. Assault survivors will be given the shelter’s location privately after they call the hotline or contact the Lawton Police Department.
For more information on becoming a victim advocate, contact Marie Detty Youth and Family Services at (580) 357-6141.
Registered nurses interested in volunteering as SANE nurses should contact Thomas at christina.thomas@swmconline.com.