For anyone who needs help from the impact of sexual assault, Riverview Center is here to help.
Emily Parker, associate program director of the organization, and Alyx Nugent, sexual assault therapist for Riverview Center, spoke about the organization at the April 4 Mount Vernon City Council meeting.
“We cover everything from helping groups deal with issues including sexual harassment at the workplace, or helping individuals get counseling for child sexual abuse from their past,” Parker said.
Parker said the group holds office hours at Cornell College’s campus, and everything that Riverview Center tackles is confidential.
Nugent is willing to help organize transportation or access to counseling services for victims.
“We really are an organization that prides ourself on being confidential until someone needs our help,” Parker said.
The organization received a $575,000 federal grant, with those funds earmarked to help survivors and their families.
Parker said those dollars are used to help people, especially those moving from dangerous situations into communities that help them feel safe, and work to provide things like rental assistance for the first six months to up to two years to help some of these victims feel safer in these new spaces.
Nugent said Riverview’s counseling doesn’t have limits to the services they provide, and there’s a great deal of flexibility to the counseling they provide.
Parker said that one in six men and one in four women are impacted by sexual assault, and April is their biggest month.
The organization will also be hosting an Evening of Light event at Grand River Center in Dubuque April 28, where Michelle Knight will be the guest speaker.
Mayor Tom Wieseler read a proclamation about sexual assault awareness month at the meeting.