CRIME VICTIMS CENTER OF CHESTER COUNTY INC

CVC provides services through two core programs: direct services and prevention education. Our direct services seek to support those who have been victimized by any form of crime, helping to shepherd them through the legal, personal and emotional process of recovering and moving forward. Our prevention education program is designed to minimize the impact of crime in our community by bringing positive norms to our schools, businesses and neighborhoods. In combination, these programs are shifting the Chester County community from the reactive response to crime and victimization to a proactive network of professionals helping those in harms way and raising the bar on how we relate and interact as a community.

At the core of the Direct Service program are two crisis support hotlines (one for sexual assault, the second for all other crimes) available 24/7/365 to anyone in need. These hotlines are staffed by Victim Advocates and specially-trained volunteers. Anyone who has been victimized by a crime or violence can take full advantage of our services, including witnesses and bystanders. No caller or client is required to report a crime or engage law enforcement.

In addition, CVC staff and volunteers are available to support those who have been victimized to see them through the process. Advocates are able to assist victims through challenging medical treatment and exams at the hospital, police interviews, legal hearings and procedures, submission of complex compensation applications or obtaining protection orders for themselves and/or their children.

Our priority is the client. When transportation is a barrier to a client making it to our main office or walk-in hours in four locations, our counselors are able to meet their client at a neutral, safe place. Our mobile counseling is especially relevant in the more rural areas of the county, as well as for clients with limited means. Healing knows no timeline. Our direct services are focused on assisting victims of crime from the point of offense until they have again found solid ground and recovered from the experience. For some, this is a brief process; for others, it is a process of many years and a great deal of hard work. CVC is there throughout.

CVC has been providing free, confidential and professional victim support services for over 45 years. During this time, the organization has developed a reputation for trustworthiness and consistency, with a vigilant focus on client needs. Today, the organization also provides a broad spectrum of primary prevention education programs to children and adults. CVC operates in a main office in West Chester (near the Justice Center and the heart of the county seat) and four outreach centers with walk-in hours. With over 30 employees and a vibrant office culture of collaborate, partnership and peer support, CVC is one of the many strong nonprofits in the Chester County community. Lead by a Board of Directors in fields as varied as elementary teacher, police detective and lawyer, the organization invests time and energy into meeting best practice expectations in client work and operations. Our many strong partnerships with peer agencies, the Justice system, police departments and legal community is another indicator of our maturity as an organization.

CVC is a trusted resource in the Chester County community. We are pleased to provide victim support services to over 6,000 individuals and reach over 35,000 children and adults with prevention messages each year. We plan to continue to provide these critical services to Chester County. We also see a number of emerging needs in the community to address. Providing the same caliber of support and education to Latino/Hispanic residents is an area of growth for the organization. Our prevention program is shifting to identifying more opportunities to "train the trainers," with the intention of leaving in place more primary prevention and trauma-aware adults in school settings to reinforce the anit-violence message. We are work to diversify our revenue stream to the organization, seeking to engage more individual donors and foundations in our work and develop a stronger base of general operating income.