By Jessica Price
Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services (SPHS) CARE center services Washington, Greene, and Butler counties with the mission to provide quality, recovery-based, and trauma-informed services, such as education, intervention, treatment, and case management to members of the community. The CARE center offers a wide range of services including Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse, Gambling Addiction Outpatient Services, Behavioral Health Crisis Services, and Sexual Trauma Treatment and Recovery Services (STTARS).
The SPHS CARE Center’s Sexual Trauma Treatment and Recovery Services (STTARS) has been working since 1982 to empower recovery, advocate for justice, and educate the community to take a stand against sexual violence. STTARS offers confidential counseling in both individual and group settings. The program also provides a volunteer-led, toll-free crisis hotline. This hotline is available 24 hours a day and can be reached at 1-888-480-7283. These services are designed to empower, educate, and support a survivor and their family members through the healing process.
STARRS provides both medical and legal advocacy to survivors and support during the medical forensic examination process. The STARRS staff works with local Crime Victim Compensation Programs to assist both survivors and their families with any financial burdens that they may face as a result of a crime. This can include the cost of medical care, counseling services, and loss of wages.
In addition to providing counseling and both legal and medical advocacy for the survivors of sexual abuse and their families, STARRS provides prevention-based education and training services. Their goal is to prevent sexual violence in the community through education, including mandated reporting, recognizing and reporting Human Trafficking, Safe Utilization of Technology, and Sexual Violence Prevention on Campus.
Recently STTARS was awarded a grant from the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape. This grant will enable the program to expand the We Can Stop Abuse Project and provide prevention education services to the Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled Community. This program is designed to be used with adolescents, and adults of varying abilities, and aims to teach its students the ability to understand and express feelings, recognize and name body parts, identify a safe person, and the ability to communicate no. Students will also learn how to identify personal VS. public boundaries, understand consent, and how to use technology safely.
Currently the We Can Stop Abuse program at the Riverside Horizons in Charleroi and the Drop-In Center in Waynesburg, as well as the Life Skills programs in the Bentworth, Bethlehem Center, Charleroi Area, McGuffy, and Washington school districts. With funding from the grant, their goal is to expand into other school districts.
In addition, STARRS received two grants funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency that will allow the program to upgrade technology and safety within the offices, improve outreach to the community, and launch a sexual violence awareness campaign to engage survivors who identify as LGBTQ+.
If you would like more information on STARRS services or how you can become a volunteer, you can contact the CARE Center STARRS program at 724-229-5007.