Safe Harbor offers comfort to victims
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

FINDING CARE- Forensic nurse Deanna McCormick discusses the state-of-the-art equipment used for retrieving DNA for evidence at the new Safe Harbor house in Ventura. McCormick has worked with sexual assault victims for nine years and said that the equipment reduces examination time for the victim.

Few people know what goes on inside the small house that sits along a shady street in Ventura. That's because the people who step inside here are either victims of sexual assault or those trying to help them.

Safe Harbor West, a multiagency interview center for victims of sexual assault, had called a set of office suites near the government center home since opening in April 2002. The center moved into this newly renovated ranch-style house March 22.

Here, rape and molestation victims can tell what happened to them in a single interview with law enforcement and medical and legal professionals in an unintimidating homelike setting. They also can learn about the services available, including counseling, disease testing and emergency shelter, and can get help navigating the legal system.

A partnership among several Ventura County public and private agencies made Safe Harbor West possible.

"This is a very important component for the community, because it serves the needs of some of the most vulnerable victims we have," said Jim Ellison of the Ventura County district attorney's office, one of the dozen or so partnering agencies.

Ellison said that to characterize the interview center as a onestop shop for victims of rape or molestation, however, is to minimize the service it performs.

Crimes of this nature demoralize or dehumanize the victim, who is often left feeling helpless, he said.

"We're allowing them the opportunity to go through the process with as much dignity as we can in an atmosphere that doesn't victimize them again," Ellison said.

The Ventura facility is one of two in the county. The other, Safe Harbor East, is situated in Simi Valley.

The two centers served more than 1,100 victims of sexual assault or physical abuse from April 2002 to March 2007, officials said. Almost 800 of the victims were children.

Before the Safe Harbor centers were established in Ventura County, victims had to travel from one office to another to recount their story to police, detectives, prosecutors, doctors, social workers and rape counselors or victims' advocates. They could tell their story as many as half a dozen times, forced to relive the trauma over and over again. Officials said children in particular may feel their accounts are doubted when asked to repeat them, and they may be especially traumatized by the repetition.

The décor of Safe Harbor West is designed as a nonthreatening, safe environment for victims and their families. Walls are painted soothing colors. The rooms are furnished with cushy sofas and armchairs instead of office furniture. The family room is filled with stuffed animals and toys and is situated just across the hall from the staff office so they can respond quickly to the family if called. All doors and windows are kept locked at all times, and the centers' locations are never disclosed.

"The idea is to make them feel complete or whole, insofar as you can, because it's such a traumatic experience," said Joanne Wach, a volunteer at Safe Harbor West.

Included among the staff are five nurses certified in conducting sexual assault examination. The facility is outfitted with stateof-the-art equipment that quickly retrieves DNA for court evidence, thus reducing the examination time for the victim. Forensic examinations had taken as long as three hours in the past, said nurse Deanna McCormick, who has worked with sexual assault victims for nine years.

"It's nice they get to come into a home," McCormick said. "I don't think it's as frightening."

Safe Harbor West is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.