Fit2BTide S09.E11: Tuscaloosa SAFE Center

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Wvuafm tuscaloosa. [00:00:09] Speaker B: Happy Sunday, y'. All. You are listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7, the capstone. And my goodness, Nika, I am just waiting with bated breath for this semester to end. I'm like, I have, you know, I. I'm just going to have full candor right now. Like, I'm just ready. And I feel like I can say that comfortably because I think students are also ready. Other faculty are ready. You know, your facial expression is telling me that you are ready, but it's like, what in the world? Like, I, you know, we thought March was madness. [00:00:43] Speaker C: We have put all the things in the month of April. [00:00:47] Speaker B: Yes. [00:00:48] Speaker C: I feel like, I feel a little bit like, you know, we're making vegetable soup and we have a really good. A really good base of veggies, and we're starting to get kind of crazy with it. We're like, yeah, oh, let's just throw cauliflower and let's throw some sweet potatoes into this vegetable soup. Like, anything we can find. We are throwing into the month of April. I feel. [00:01:09] Speaker B: And then it's like, but why, but [00:01:12] Speaker C: why are we doing that? It's. There's May. I understand that graduation starts May 1, but, you know, we're still here as faculty and staff, so we don't have to get it all in by the last stroke of midnight. I know, the last day of April. [00:01:34] Speaker B: And I mean, dare I ask this? Because I feel like I, I know the answer, but at this point in the semester, do you have some students that are like, hey, so what can I do to make up for these eight tests earlier in the semester that I didn't do so hot on? I know we're on the brink of finals, but [00:01:57] Speaker C: I taught today. I had maybe four of those. Approach me after class today. Hey, can I come talk to you? [00:02:11] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:02:11] Speaker B: It's like, sure, hun. [00:02:15] Speaker C: We're kind of running out of track here. Yeah, the train's got to stop at some point, you know, so it's every semester. But I am sad yet kind of. We were talking about this. We're sad that we won't be able to be with our listeners after this week. This is our last show for the semester. [00:02:37] Speaker B: It is. [00:02:38] Speaker C: Yes, I am sad, but I'm also kind of like, okay, we need. We need a break so we can, you know, rev back up and come back even better. [00:02:48] Speaker B: I know. I mean, truly. And, you know, this. This whole. This whole academic year, we have been touting that we have had, like, just the best lineup of guests from, you know, some of our different partners on campus, off campus, our student guests, and today is no exception. You know, Nika, I. I know that we didn't get to spend time together a couple weeks ago when we had our Camellia center friends on board, but that was a great. A great show. You know, that was part of April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. We're going to continue that this episode as well. But, y', all, we're gonna leave it at that for now. Put a little bit of a teaser right there just so we can take a quick break. You guys get hydrated, run to the restroom, do what you gotta do. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone. [00:03:45] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa. [00:03:55] Speaker C: Happy Sunday, y'. All. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena And Neeka on 90.7, the capstone. [00:04:00] Speaker B: That's right. And if you are just now joining us, we were mentioning before the break that earlier this month we had our friends from the Camellia center at the University of Alabama, just as we tie things into recognizing April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. And we want to continue that theme today. And we have the pleasure of talking about the Tuscaloosa Safe center and are honored to have Melissa Hanks, who is associate executive director, director, and program director for the center. Melissa, thank you for so much for joining us today. [00:04:31] Speaker D: Thank you so much for having us. [00:04:33] Speaker B: Absolutely. And so typically, at this point in the show, listeners, we always like to learn a bit about our guests, their academic and professional background. I know for a lot of our listeners, they tend to be inspired by hearing what people's journeys were to the role that they have now, whether it was a very direct, linear process or more of a windy road. So, Melissa, can you share with us your professional and academic background prior to working at Tuscaloosa Safe Center? [00:05:03] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely. So straight out of high school, I went and did my bachelor's degree in nursing. I actually did my undergrad in Canada, which is where I'm from originally. And after graduating, I originally worked on a med surg floor and I was working in Canada, and there was a lot of shifting going on in the hospital, and I had to move floor floors. And I thought it was the end of the world that after nine months, I had to leave what I was comfortable with. But it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me because I found my first love, which was ER nursing. [00:05:39] Speaker C: Nice. [00:05:40] Speaker D: And I did that for five and a half years. And if I didn't have that experience as an ER nurse, I never would have found my second love, which was sexual assault nursing. And I continually came into contact with, say, nurses throughout the three different ERs that I worked in. I learned a lot of those foundational skills, critical thinking and compassion, seeing people in crisis, learning how to comfort them on the worst day of their lives, working in the ER. And so when I came on initially with the safe center back in summer of 2019 as an on call nurse, that was the start of this long time career with the SAFE Center. And while working at the SAFE Center, I've gone back to school and I got my master's in nursing education a few years ago. [00:06:30] Speaker B: Nice. [00:06:31] Speaker C: So let me ask this. You against your will, got moved and. But it ended up being the best thing. So you went to the er. How, in being in that trauma did you kind of stumble upon, out of all the different trauma that there can be, the sexual assault being what you feel like your calling was? [00:06:59] Speaker D: So three different ERs that I worked in, I worked in ER in Ontario, Canada, just south of Atlanta, Georgia, and then locally here. And sexual assault was something that I came into contact in all of them. [00:07:13] Speaker C: Right. [00:07:13] Speaker D: And which I think is important to note that this is not just a local issue, this is an international issue. [00:07:20] Speaker C: Right. [00:07:21] Speaker D: And I love to see the same nurses at work. And one of the negatives to me about working in the ER is it is so many people's worst days of their lives. But I'm being pulled so many different ways. And what was appealing to me with SANE nursing is I could give my entire self, my entire focus to this one person without being pulled 20 different directions. [00:07:49] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:07:49] Speaker D: And to get to spend that time with them, to help them start their healing journey. And I can't tell you how many times even now in my current role that I'll hear people come in, you know, crying, upset about what happened, and I'll hear them laughing with the nurse and with the advocate and, you know, sometimes they even leave with a smile on their face. And that doesn't mean that everything's okay, but we're able to provide that sense of safety, that sense of security and help them start their healing journey. And that, that was just very appealing to me. [00:08:25] Speaker B: Yeah, no, I, you know, just the way that you articulated that, you know, I think that your, your passion for being very intentional and, and focused on those patients and being in that experience with them and providing them that, that support in, you know, what is a very troubling time is amazing. And, you know, and I think that the fact that you've been able to work in your gifting with that is really incredible. And I know that we've, you know, mentioned that we're focusing on Tuscaloosa SAFE center today. And so, you know, Melissa, we just want point blank, what is the main focus of Tuscaloosa Safe Center? I know we're going to take a deeper dive into that a little bit later in the show, but we'd love to know what is the main focus. [00:09:11] Speaker D: So the main focus for the Safe center is to provide compassionate trauma informed care to victims of sexual violence. And our goal is really to provide these wraparound services to them to not only help them in that initial acute phase where the assault has just happened, but also to help them in their healing journey and help them throughout it. So something important to know is that we do still help victims who some of them were assaulted as children and now they're 60 years old, they can still come for therapy, support, group advocacy. So we're trying to, you know, encompass the whole person and help them in their healing. [00:09:50] Speaker B: Yeah, I. So I did not realize that those continued services are available. You know, I think that as people learn about Tuscaloosa Safe center, they might just think of it as this is the place that you go surrounding that, that specific time that, that the event occurred. But to know that you provide that long term support is really incredible. Are there any limitations for individuals in terms of number of sessions or how long that support is available to them? The. [00:10:26] Speaker D: It's technically supposed to be for short term. However, our therapist has never once let somebody go because of a timeline. She assists with them and she works with them until they are in a place where they are ready to transition to a long term therapist. [00:10:42] Speaker C: That's incredible. So I know the answer to this, but I am going to pretend like I am brand new to Tuscaloosa and I know nothing. So for our listeners out there, the SAFE center is that located inside the emergency room department. Like how you know, do you go there first? You go to the emergency room first? What does that look like? [00:11:03] Speaker D: So we are a standalone organization. We are, however, very, very close to regional dch. Big dch. We're about two blocks down going towards Alberta City, in between Emergicare and McClendon Vet. So we're pretty easy to find. You just keep walking straight. [00:11:20] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:11:21] Speaker C: And summer snow. [00:11:22] Speaker D: Yes, summer snow. That's true, that's true. If you can see summer Snow, you can see us. [00:11:26] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:11:27] Speaker D: And [00:11:31] Speaker C: so you can go there first or to the er, like, so we. [00:11:36] Speaker D: It's going to depend on how. If you have any medical injuries that need attention, anything that needs to be assessed, such as strangulation, you know, broken bones, excessive bleeding, any. Anything. And that's just a very, very limited list. Anything medically that needs attention, we want them to go there. Medical always trumps forensics. That's always more important. That being said, if you are medically stable, then we do prefer you come to us first. Just because by checking into the ER you do get a bill if you're seen by someone. [00:12:14] Speaker C: Right. [00:12:15] Speaker D: If you come to us, everything is free. There are options that we can talk about and discuss, depending on the individual situation, about helping to apply for payment of that hospital bill. But it's just, if you don't medically need it, then please just come to us. [00:12:32] Speaker C: Okay. Well, I was going to say. Sorry, do you have a partnership with Regional DCH where once they get the medically stable, they can call you guys? [00:12:43] Speaker D: We do with Regional Northport as well as Fayette. So, one, if somebody checks in there, they will quickly do a, what they call an msc, a medical screening exam, and they will be seen in triage by a doctor and made sure that they're medically stable. Assess if they need any medical care. If they do, they, you know, proceed to the ER and get it. If they don't, they will actually quickly discharge them and send them to us. [00:13:14] Speaker C: Gotcha. [00:13:14] Speaker D: And we've done a lot of training with the staff at the hospitals to ensure that they're only asking questions needed to answer if there's a medical need. We don't want them digging into the activities or events that happened because let's not, you know, dig at a traumatic wound. [00:13:33] Speaker C: Right, Exactly. [00:13:34] Speaker D: Necessarily. And so we've got a good partnership there. If medically there is a need for them to stay. It varies situation to situation, but we will absolutely go to the center if needed and do it there. Sometimes they'll get discharged and come to us. [00:13:51] Speaker C: Thank you for explaining those logistics. [00:13:53] Speaker B: Yes. No, Nika, I appreciate you asking that. And then especially too, with, you know, what does that relationship look like with the local hospitals? And I, you know, it sounds like it's a pretty straightforward process that really benefits your clients. You know, just where, you know where, you know, it makes that side of things as least complicated as possible so that you can provide those services. I know we've got to take a quick break, but when we get back, Melissa, we want to ask you more about Tuscaloosa Safe Center. I know you were talking about some of the local hospitals, but, you know, in terms of the reach that the center has with other counties, we'd love to take a deep dive with that. But, you guys, we are going to take a quick break. You are listening to Fit to Be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7, the capstone foreign. [00:14:44] Speaker A: Wvua fm tuscaloosa. [00:14:53] Speaker C: Welcome back. You are listening to Fit to Be tied with Sheena and Na on 90.7, the capstone. And today we are discussing the Tuscaloosa Safe Center. And we are joined by our wonderful guest, Melissa Hanks, who serves as the associate executive director and program director of the Tuscaloosa Safe Center. [00:15:12] Speaker B: That's right. And, Melissa, before the break, you were talking to us about the relationship that the center has with some of the local hospitals. But I'm curious, in terms of the counties that the Tuscaloosa Safe center serves, what does that look like? Because I feel like it would be a very natural assumption to only think about Tuscaloosa county, but what does that reach really look like? [00:15:37] Speaker D: So we do serve the nine counties of the West Alabama region. So we're talking, you know, Bibb County, Fayette, Lamar, Pickens, Sumter, Green, Marengo, Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa. [00:15:49] Speaker C: You're. That's. [00:15:49] Speaker D: I think I got all nine. [00:15:51] Speaker B: Yeah. You're impressed. I'm impressed. Yeah. [00:15:54] Speaker D: Yeah. And that being said, that of those counties, Tuscaloosa is the only one that's considered not to be rural. It is the most populated one. So we absolutely do see the majority of our patients coming into us from this county. But we do see people from every county, different ages, and we serve them all. [00:16:16] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:16:17] Speaker C: Yeah. And I would probably like to add every gender. [00:16:22] Speaker D: Absolutely. [00:16:23] Speaker C: Because I know that there are just. I think our. My mind would go prior to having my. My experience in public health to be thinking a female. [00:16:34] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:16:35] Speaker C: That it's only females who get assaulted. But that's not true. [00:16:37] Speaker D: Nope. It absolutely is not. [00:16:39] Speaker C: It also for the males out there, this safe center also serves you. [00:16:43] Speaker D: Yep. Our only, you know, requirements for receiving services are you need to be at least 14 years old and a victim of sexual assault. Otherwise we doesn't matter what you look like, what your. [00:16:56] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. Just 14 and are a victim. Okay. [00:17:01] Speaker B: So, you know, thinking about the reach that the center has, Melissa, are there certain statistics available related to sexual assault in the Tuscaloosa area or just in general with the nine counties that you serve. [00:17:17] Speaker D: Yes. So if you don't mind, I had to write down some statistics because I can't remember them all off the top of my head. Hey, I understand that, but yes. So I have a few statistics for you guys, so bear with me. But in 2025, we served 120 patients. And this is talking strictly exams, medical, forensic exams. From those. That was all counties. From those, 99 were from Tuscaloosa County. So you can see the majority. Yeah, they are coming from Tuscaloosa. And of those, 81 reported to law enforcement. That's going to come. That's going to be important in a second. And majority of our patients fall into the age ranges of 18 to 24. So 44% were in that age range. And 25 to 59, that's 40%. And 43% are students. And then since 2018, we've served 920 patients and 76% report to law enforcement. And the reason I want to bring attention to reporting to law enforcement, I do want to say that the majority of the time it is up to the person if they want to report to law enforcement. There's, of course, those situations of you're a minor or vulnerable population, but majority of the time you are in control and you make that choice. But the fact that consistently we're seeing 75 plus percent reporting is really telling of the. And it really reflects the trust that we built with law enforcement and with our local community. And nationally, you only see about 30% report. [00:18:55] Speaker C: Yeah. Wow. [00:18:56] Speaker D: It just. Yeah. Very, very strong on the trust that we built. [00:19:00] Speaker C: Right. [00:19:01] Speaker B: I, that I'm just. [00:19:02] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm blown away to the, to the hard work that you guys have put in. [00:19:06] Speaker B: Yes. And so with that, Melissa, I'm curious, are there specific individuals with the different local law enforcement agencies that they tend to send out in these situations? You know, just so that, you know, again, there's that trust built with that familiarity of like kind of having that, that point person within that agency. Or is it just a great relationship as a whole with those law enforcement agencies? [00:19:35] Speaker D: We do work, we do work really hard to build a strong relationship as a whole with all of our counties. But I will say for Tuscaloosa specifically, they have the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit and there's a sexual assault division. So these people, they're, you know, bread and butter of their job is they are helping, you know, sexual assault victims and investigating these crimes. And that I think is really, really important because one, they get that background Training which includes, you know, learning the neurobiology of trauma. So you learn that, you know, not everybody's going to be hysterical. Everybody shows trauma and distress differently. We learn why they may not remember parts of what happened. And, and knowing these different things about the brain is really important. And that's part of their training. And there's much more to that training that is just specific to helping these victims. And so they get that training and it's the same, you know, few people over and over doing these cases. So we build a good relationship with them. They, you know, know what they're doing from the experience and the education. And I think that instills trust as well in them from the community. Right. That is not just some, you know, new grad patrol officer investigating. [00:20:57] Speaker C: Yeah. So you, you told us about who can be seen at the SAFE Center. Can you tell us? You've, you've talked a little bit about the therapy and the long term services and the immediate services. But what other things does the SAFE center offer that you have not yet gotten to share with our audience? [00:21:24] Speaker D: Okay, so we have our, yes, our initial exams. We do advocacy. So advocacy. This is volunteer. We have volunteers that do this and they are trained by us to be that support system to the victim throughout their journey. During the medical exam that looks like, you know, noticing for signs of distress, asking, you know, for pauses, helping them to get comfortable, get snacks. They completely optional to them, but a lot of them tend to choose to have this person present during the exam. And because the advocate knows exactly what to expect, even though, yes, the nurses are explaining what they're doing, it's still good to have that one person only focused on them that's walking them through step by step, helping them through the process and only giving. They don't want to take anything. They don't want evidence, they don't want answers. They just want to give. And then we will also come with clients to, you know, if they need to go to a law enforcement interview or our therapist has gone with clients to do get PFAs or she's helped them write victim impact statements. So there, there's more to it than. It doesn't just stop at the exam and then with the, we have support groups which is every week on Wednesday evenings sometimes we're able to get some grant funding to do alternate therapy. So we'll do trauma informed yoga, trauma informed art. And something that is fantastic is that our therapist is trained in emdr, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, which is research backed as you know, top trauma treatment. And for her to be able to do that free of charge is, is wonderful. Otherwise it can be very hard for people to access. [00:23:24] Speaker C: So I love that it's not only that forensic and medical support, but it's holistic. It is whole person and I mean well, one stop shop and that I don't think I knew that as much as, you know, I should have known that. So thank you for sharing that with us. [00:23:43] Speaker B: Yeah, I, you know, I Nick, I know our bread and butter is that holistic well being and so to hear that is really exciting. And I know that we've been talking about the services with the SAFE center and you know, of course we are in close pro close proximity to the University of Alabama. And earlier on in the show we were talking about the Camellia Center. Does the Tuscaloosa SAF center have any kind of working relationships or partnerships with our Camellia center on campus? [00:24:11] Speaker D: Absolutely. So we have a quarterly meeting where we actually meet with the Camellia Center Title nine and Turning Point in us. And so we keep each other up to date, you know, work on, you know, different components of the relationship. We also with the Camellia center specifically, they will provide advocates for the medical component or the exams for anybody that is a UA or Shelton State student or faculty. And they will provide therapy, support group, those services for students and faculty that are sexual assault victims. And we just keep in touch, we're sharing information, resources. We'll do events together sometimes, especially during April. So we have a very good working relationship with them. [00:25:01] Speaker B: That's incredible. I like again, you know, for our listeners who have joined the episode today, it's so great to hear this information about this local resource that we have here in Tuscaloosa. I know that we've we're about to have to take a break. On the other side of the break, Melissa, we're going to dive into, you know, what is a sane nurse. You know, we, we use that acronym a little bit earlier but we'd love to go into a deeper dive with our listeners. But you guys, we're going to take that quick break. You are listen listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 to Capstone. [00:25:39] Speaker A: Wvuafm tuscaloosa. [00:25:49] Speaker C: Welcome back, listeners. You are listening to Fit to be tagged with Sheena and Neeka on 90.7 the capstone. [00:25:55] Speaker B: That's right. And today we have the honor of being joined by Melissa Hanks, who is associate executive director and program director of the Tuscaloosa Safe Center. Today, Melissa has shared with us information about the Tuscaloosa Safe center in terms of its mission, some of the statistics related to sexual assault in the Tuscaloosa area and the various services that are provided. But, you know, we've mentioned this earlier, Melissa. You know, we talked about, you know, a SANE nurse, you know, saying, what can you tell our listeners specifically, what does that acronym stand for? [00:26:32] Speaker D: So it stands for sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. And these are nurses who they have typically at least two years of nursing experience, and they go through a rigorous training. We've got our didactic portion at least 40 hours there. They have several days of clinical skills lab. We do shadow shifts that they're coming in with the current, say, nurse working through cases with them, and then we bring them back and we do mount cases. So there is a significant amount of training before they start providing services on their own. [00:27:12] Speaker B: So thinking about these clinical staff having, you know, the special training, this credential, you know, when we're thinking about the forensic exam, that. That comes into play here, what all is involved with that and, you know, what would you like to share with listeners about why that's important part of the process, [00:27:37] Speaker C: the forensic exam, Would you mind clarifying? [00:27:41] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. So, you know, so when we're thinking about the component of the forensic exam, when. When people are coming to the safe center, what. What is involved with that forensic exam and why. Why can that be helpful in the process? [00:27:56] Speaker D: I see. So they are put, you know, in touch with the nurse, and the nurse from the beginning will talk to them about if you need to go to the er, do a little quick phone screening, decide if you need to go to the er, do you need to come to the center? They walk them through their options. So the SANE nurse will know exactly what options they have depending on their, you know, specific situation. They are. Something that's really important to me, and I know to the sexual assault victims and survivors, is that this is the start of them getting control back in their life when control was taken from them. So while we're giving them the options, they're getting to decide what they are comfortable with, what they want to happen to their body. We're very clear up front that you can change your mind. You're allowed to give consent and then take it back. [00:28:54] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:28:55] Speaker D: And step by step throughout the whole process, we do the history taking and then we do the physical exam and evidence collection. It's very much every step of the way is, what do they want? They're in control. If they Change their mind, that is perfectly fine. And we tailor it to what they're comfortable with and their specific situation. [00:29:16] Speaker C: And. And they have their advocate there. [00:29:18] Speaker B: Yeah, I appreciate you sharing that. And, you know, again, you know, thinking about that process and, you know, for our listener who just want to be well informed so that they can share this with others that may need these services in the future, you know, if somebody experiences a sexual assault and then, you know, they. They want to come to the center and get services, but, you know, maybe they're thinking, like, oh, before I go, like, I just want to get these clothes off of me. Like, I want to, you know, separate myself from this experience. I want to take a shower. Does that affect collection? And would you say, you know, if. If a. A victim feels comfortable, if they can come in. In the present clothing that they're in, I don't know if there's any wisdom that you can share with that. [00:30:04] Speaker D: So, absolutely. If you can refrain from showering, that's ideal. But somebody showering, use the bathroom, eating, changing, brushing their teeth is never a reason not to come to us. You can still come to us. We can still provide services. We can still assess your body, help you with that, control, collect evidence. So that is. That should never be a barrier. And as far as clothing and whatnot, if they're comfortable, they can come in it. If they're not, they can just bring it with them, preferably in a paper bag. But I don't know how many people actually have those. So, yeah, if you bring in a plastic bag, just tell the nurse right up front and they'll switch it to a paper bag. But we never want that to be a barrier that does not impact your ability. [00:30:52] Speaker C: Now, why is that? [00:30:53] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. I'm like, tell us. Yeah, yeah. [00:30:57] Speaker D: So it has to do with. If you leave evidence, particularly if it has some moisture to it in plastic, it can collect, mold and degrade the evidence. But if you put it in the paper bag, it can breathe. So you're not going to have that same issue there, man. [00:31:13] Speaker B: Okay. [00:31:14] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:31:14] Speaker B: So, Melissa, thank you for humoring our questions of, like, okay, explain this to me because, you know, we. [00:31:20] Speaker C: Science. [00:31:21] Speaker B: Yeah, we get really interested in that. So I think along those lines, Nika, you probably have the same thought. You know, we're kind of in this vein of knowing, are there, you know, are there certain concerns or misconceptions that individuals have when it comes to coming to the. The center or getting assistance after sexual assault in general? [00:31:42] Speaker D: A couple of the misconceptions that I See, one which I know we've touched on is people think that in order to come to us and to get help or any sort of services, they have to report to law enforcement. But that is not the case. You know, the majority of the time you do not need to involve them if you do not want them. So we do not want that to ever be a reason not to come. [00:32:03] Speaker C: Right. [00:32:04] Speaker D: The second misconception I see a lot is people tend to assume, and I can understand why this thought process exists, but they assume that if there weren't any genital injuries, it means they weren't assaulted. And that's absolutely not true. And the research actually backs up and I don't remember the exact statistics, but approximately half the time, you know, there were sexual or genital injuries with consensual exams and there weren't with non consensual anyways. So basically half the time there were injuries with or without it being a sexual assault. Half the time there weren't without it being. So it really doesn't determine. [00:32:49] Speaker C: You don't have to be hurting for it to have been an assault. If something you said. No. [00:32:54] Speaker D: No is still no. [00:32:55] Speaker C: And no is still no. [00:32:56] Speaker D: Yes. [00:32:57] Speaker C: Now let me ask you this. You know, there, there's a group of people out there who need to go the emergency room sometime because you know, they may have cut their finger off, you know, cutting, you know, a carrot and they're like, I'm just gonna wait this out morning until the doctor's office opens. [00:33:14] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:33:15] Speaker C: You know, because I don't want to go to the emergency room. What is that like for victims of sexual assault? Do they need to wait until you guys open the door at a certain time or are you available 24 7? How does that work when it comes [00:33:27] Speaker D: to the exam portion? We are open 24 7. So we, we do have our, you know, administrative office hours which are Monday, Friday, 8:30 to 4:30. And during that time you can just walk in, but outside of that you would just call our phone number. It's the same number no matter what time of day. And you'd get in contact with a real person and they will have this San nurse call you and meet you at the center or the hospital. [00:33:54] Speaker C: So no going home and waiting until daylight breaks. [00:33:58] Speaker D: Not. Yes. [00:33:59] Speaker C: I love that. [00:33:59] Speaker D: Sometimes people need to process. They do. [00:34:01] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:34:02] Speaker D: Before. [00:34:02] Speaker C: But you don't have to feel like. [00:34:04] Speaker D: Exactly. It's like. [00:34:05] Speaker B: But. [00:34:06] Speaker D: But time of day should not be a barrier. [00:34:08] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:34:08] Speaker B: That's amazing. Now how many sane staff do you have that, that provide those Clinical services. [00:34:17] Speaker D: We currently have, I believe it's nine sane nurses. So we, you know, we'll see anywhere from, you know, 7 to 12. It kind of varies depending on the season of life we're in that will provide services. Two of those are full time, not including myself, and the rest are on call nurses. [00:34:38] Speaker B: That's wonderful. I have just, I've been so blown away by the information that has been shared. I know that this is valuable to our listeners. I know. We're gonna take a quick break, Melissa, but I hope you'll stay on with us for our closing segment. And you guys, we're gonna take that quick break. You are listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the kids capstone. [00:35:05] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa. [00:35:15] Speaker C: We are so happy you are joining us on fit to be tied with Sheena and NA on 90.7 the capstone. [00:35:21] Speaker B: That's right. And we mentioned at the beginning of the show that today is our last episode of the spring season. And we are so excited that we have been able to end this season with an amazing guest. We have Melissa Hanks, who is associate executive director and program director for the Tuscaloosa Safe Center. And so, Melissa, you know, I think something I'm curious about that we haven't necessarily discussed is, you know, if we have listeners that are like, wow, I really believe in the mission and the services of what Tuscaloosa Safe center does, how can I support? What can I do? Does this organization take monetary donations? Are there, you know, advocacy events? What, you know, what do informed listeners who want to help? What can they do? [00:36:13] Speaker D: Absolutely. There's a few things they could do, of course, always monetary donations. Venmo PayPal on our website chat. However, we also do like, you're, you're right, volunteering. So the medical advocates are all volunteers. We have some volunteers that are students, that are undergrad students. We have professors, we have community members. There's no, as long as you're, you know, at least 19 years old, no criminal background. There isn't a strict restriction on who can be a medical advocate. It as far as beyond that, donations, we'll see donations. Specifically, we like clothes that are brand new. It's just something about being able to put on a brand new clothing item after you've been through something so violating that just, it helps, you know, you gain a little bit of confidence, makes you feel a little bit cleaner as you're walking out that door. And anything we take from the person for evidence, we like to give them a replacement option. So if we take underwear, we give them a pair of underwear. So we. We want them to always walk out with something. Trying to think, what else do you [00:37:29] Speaker C: do y' all have any specific events, like any kind of fundraisers or galas or like, you know, come out, meet the staff tabling events that you host throughout the year? [00:37:41] Speaker D: Year, absolutely. So April 28th at the Capstone College of Nursing, we actually have our annual SAM conference, Sexual Assault Awareness Month conference. This is our third year. I'm very excited about our speakers and it is currently free of charge. We do provide lunch for free. And for those professions that need it, it does come with continuing education credits. And then in October, the sga and not on my campus, they work together to do an annual fundraising gala for us. [00:38:19] Speaker C: Awesome. [00:38:19] Speaker D: Oh, and then we just have smaller events throughout the year of. We attend outreach events. Sometimes we need some help just having someone help with those. And we do see students that will especially. You see it a lot with the sororities, like at Alpha Kai, they're a big supporter for us. They'll do fundraisers throughout the year. Sometimes it's a big one. Like love it. The free that Alpha Kai does. Or it could be something smaller, a donation drive. But all of that's helpful. [00:38:51] Speaker C: Everything. Everything's helpful. Yes. And I wanted to ask one more question randomly before we go, but this kind of goes back to where we were saying, hey, this is not just a female issue. Do you see the need for male advocates for those male victims? [00:39:12] Speaker D: We have had male advocates in the past. I believe we still have one. It gets a little tricky in the sense that even the males that we have seen because about 17% of our patients that we've seen have been males and the majority of them are assaulted by other males. [00:39:31] Speaker C: So they don't want to mail it. That's. [00:39:32] Speaker D: That's what I was ask is it's person dependence. [00:39:36] Speaker C: Right. Because, you know, there's sometimes where you just don't want the opposite sex in the room. But then if you've been assaulted by the same gender, then that's going to now be uncomfortable as well. [00:39:48] Speaker D: Yeah. So. [00:39:49] Speaker C: So that. I'm glad that, you know, you've. [00:39:51] Speaker D: So we do still. We absolutely welcome male advocates, but what we end up doing is we have a female backup. [00:39:59] Speaker C: Right. [00:39:59] Speaker D: And then we give the person that option. So that way if they are uncomfortable with a male, there's that female backup to come in. [00:40:08] Speaker C: Right, Right. What about for saying nurses? Is it ever like that? Is it all female nurses or is there male nurses as well? [00:40:16] Speaker D: Currently, it's all female nurses. We have not had a male nurse to date, which isn't because they're not allowed to be seen. [00:40:24] Speaker C: Right. [00:40:24] Speaker D: It's just we haven't had any apply or. Yeah, but it would be similar. We would need to have a backup email. [00:40:30] Speaker C: Right. [00:40:31] Speaker D: Just in case. [00:40:32] Speaker C: Just trying to let our listeners know if they're thinking, you know, weighing, do I, do I want to come? Do I not want to come? What if this is going to happen? I just love that you've thought about everything. [00:40:42] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:40:43] Speaker C: I just really love that you have thoughts about anything and everything that can make the victim uncomfortable. And you're like, no, we got you. [00:40:50] Speaker D: Yeah, we're like backups. [00:40:53] Speaker B: Yes. [00:40:53] Speaker C: You know what you want. We got whatever you, you know, you need, we got you. I love that. [00:40:58] Speaker B: So, Melissa, as we end our time, where can listeners go for more information? Can you share the Tuscaloosa Safe center website? And also, do you guys have a social media presence? [00:41:11] Speaker D: Yes. So www.tuscaloosasafecenter.com is our website and we do have an account on Facebook and Instagram. Gosh, I don't remember our exact handle, but I'm sure it's something like Tuscaloosa Safe Center. [00:41:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:41:26] Speaker D: I can't see us making it something different. [00:41:29] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you for sharing that because I know that for a lot of our listeners, they're probably thinking, like, I want to learn more about these services just so that they can share and advocate and provide that within their own spheres of influence. But, Melissa, thank you so much for being on today's episode. [00:41:45] Speaker C: Thank you for ending out our semester in such a wonderful way. Yes. It's such an empowering and, you know, like you said in the. In one of the most vulnerable parts of your life to be able to take your own power back. And that starts with, you know, the services that you guys are providing. So thank you for that. [00:42:03] Speaker D: Absolutely. [00:42:04] Speaker B: Yes. Thank you, guys. Thank you, listeners. Thank you for a great season. With that, we will. We will see you next time in the fall. You have been listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7, the capstone. [00:42:23] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.