Healing Through Support

Rebuilding Hope, The Sexual Assault Center for Pierce County was created and exists to serve victim-survivors of sexual assault and abuse, and to confront the social dynamics which foster sexual assault and abuse.

Although sexual assault is often an isolated incident, it is symptomatic of a greater social dynamic. The act or threat of rape, incest, and other forms of sexual violence are used to victimize and control individuals. Sexual assault is a physical and psychological assault of profound magnitude, which impacts a victim’s sense of self-esteem, trust, security and control, as well as the individual’s relationship within the larger community.

Rebuilding Hope is a community-based agency that advocates for victim-survivors, their families and friends. The agency embraces the goal of providing support and information so that a victim may empower herself or himself to heal, while acknowledging the victim-survivor’s dignity and respect of her or his decisions.

Rebuilding Hope advocates the victim-survivor’s right to: Be believed; Receive non-judgmental support; Choose her or his own pace and path of healing; Expect privacy and confidentiality; Accept or reject any agency service offered; and Receive accurate and current information.

In order to serve all victim-survivors, Rebuilding Hope strives to be fully accessible to all segments of the community, acknowledging differences and special needs. The agency seeks to eliminate barriers by asking for community input in assessing and broadening diverse representation within the agency. It serves individuals who have had their lives impacted by sexual assault, regardless of race, ethnicity, color, religion, disability, pregnancy, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, income, veteran status, marital status or any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law.

The agency believes sexual assault can be prevented. Prevention programs focus on: Education: targeting youth, other service providers, and the public, to rethink unconscious beliefs that permit the behavior; Community Development Model facilitation and implementation, which allow individual communities to take responsibility for creating an environment that has no tolerance for sexually violent behavior; Confrontation of societal views and attitudes that excuse sexual assault and increase vulnerability.

The Sexual Assault Center is an integral part of a larger system encompassing all services and professions that come into contact with victims of sexual assault and abuse. As a pivotal agency in the community, Rebuilding Hope is a critical force in the effort to further humanize the medical, legal, judicial and social processes that confront the victim-survivor. It is committed to interacting with the larger system in a professional and responsible manner.

We want to recognize the Tacoma attorneys at the law firm of Davies Pearson for their support of the Walk-a-Mile in Her Shoes event. Many thanks for helping us extend hope to victim-survivors of sexual assault in Pierce County.