Verity: Compassion, Safety, Support
Cause Area
- Advocacy & Human Rights
- Children & Youth
- Community
- Crisis Support
- Women
Location
835 Piner Rd, Suite DSanta Rosa, CA 95403 United StatesWebsite:
http://ourverity.org
Organization Information
Mission Statement
We at Verity, working in partnership with the community, strive to eliminate all forms of violence, with a special focus on sexual assault and abuse. Sexual assault is an unacceptable and unconscionable form of oppression, which is destructive to the lives of survivors, their families, and friends. Verity facilitates healing and promotes the prevention of violence by providing counseling, advocacy, intervention, and education, in our communities.
Description
We promote social justice and equality for all women, men and children who have been sexually assaulted. We are committed to ending sexual violence by working to eliminate those conditions that cause or tolerate it. We recognize that the process of ending violence in our community involves a partnership of individuals, groups and institutions.
Verity was founded in 1974 as Women Against Rape, a grassroots organization for women who were traumatized by rape. The agency consisted of a phone number women could call for emotional support, which is still the only one of its kind in Sonoma County. It operates 24 hours a day,7 days a week.
Over the past 35 years, the organization has undergone many changes and greatly expanded the services it is able to offer the people of our community. Staff and volunteers complete an extensive training, learning specific ways to help victims, which include not only women and girls, but also men, children and the families of victims. They learn about the devastating effects of rape trauma syndrome and other health issues - both physical and mental - law enforcement and court procedures, and all the resources available in our community. These individuals not only give their time to work the crisis line phone, but they also accompany victims and their families when asked. This may be for any number of different reasons - police reporting, court appearances and testifying, medical-legal exams at the hospital, for which support is needed.