Womens Crisis Center Inc

In 1976, the Rape Crisis Center began in response to a series of rapes in the local community. The mission of the Center was to provide support services for rape survivors. In 1979, the name was changed to Women’s Crisis Center (WCC) to reflect the great need for services to battered women and their children. The agency opened its first domestic violence shelter in 1981 in Northern Kentucky followed by an additional shelter in Maysville in 1987. Both of these shelters provide services 24/7, 365 days of the year. Women’s Crisis Center has grown from a grass roots organization into an agency providing counseling and advocacy services in six walk-in facilities within thirteen counties in the Northern Kentucky and Buffalo Trace Area Development Districts. Beyond shelter and crisis intervention, WCC staff trains the emergency room staff in all the area hospitals, as well as local judges, law enforcement and attorneys to ensure victims are treated with respect and regard.

Beyond intervention services, WCC also provides a crisis hotline that is answered by a professional counselor 24/7. Prevention services include Green Dot training to students, a revolutionary bystander intervention program aimed to reduce power-based personal violence. The organization also offers a Pet Protection Program where a family’s pet is kept safe until the family can take care of it.

The mission of the Women’s Crisis Center is to lead our community in the social change needed to end domestic violence, rape and sexual assault. The vision is to provide immediate access to effective crisis intervention and support and personal attention to victims and survivors. The organization aims to provide a safe and nurturing environment for adults and children traumatized by domestic violence, rape and sexual assault. Therapeutic work is based on the empowerment model which works with victims to gain self-esteem and self-sufficiency and to move beyond victim-hood to become strong survivors. Counselors advocate for the safety, civil rights and health of the clients and recognize the necessity of helping the clients find their voice in political, judicial, legal and other public welfare arenas. The ultimate goal is to end power based inter-personal violence through strategic primary prevention strategies so that intervention services and treatment are no longer needed.