In order to provide the highest level of service, SAVAS maintains a dedication to ethical principles that include confidentiality, competence, integrity, accountability, and respect for people’s rights and dignity.
SAVAS continually works toward providing services that reflect the change and growth in our community. We engage in evaluations of our services and service delivery in a way that helps us to keep pace with the needs of community members. In addition, we maintain productive and healthy collaborative relationships with other community businesses, agencies and allied professionals in order to provide our clients with appropriate referrals and information regarding additional assistance and services available to them.
Below is a brief description of our primary services:
24-hour Hotline
Trained volunteers and staff offer immediate crisis intervention and support for all those who have been sexually assaulted, as well as for their friends and family members. Help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. SAVAS companions provide information about medical concerns, legal procedures and community resources. Through our 24-hour help line, emotional support is a phone call away throughout the recovery process. Call our hotline at (703) 368-4141 an ask for a "SAVAS Companion".
Hospital Accompaniment
SAVAS companions are available round the clock to meet survivors and their loved ones at area hospital emergency rooms. Companions provide support for victims and their loved ones, answer questions about medical procedures and collection of forensic evidence, and provide information should the victim or their loved ones desire follow-up support services or referral information. For information call 703-497-1192. If you go to Potomac Hospital to receive medical attention as the result of a sexual assault, you may request that they call the SAVAS Companion on duty and we will meet you there.
Crisis Counseling
SAVAS provides free confidential crisis counseling is available for all community members and their loved ones who have been victimized by sexual violence. This enables our clients to move through the “crisis stage” of trauma, so that they may begin the process of gaining control of their lives again. In addition, we offer a support groups for both women and men survivors of childhood molestation, teens victimized by sexual assault/sexual abuse, non-offending parents, and partners of adults molested as children.
Legal/Court Accompaniment
A sexual assault survivor may hesitate to report the crime because of fear or confusion about the legal procedures. SAVAS companions provide information and assist in decision-making and court and legal processes. If a victim of sexual assault chooses to report the crime, companions are available to accompany her or him to the local police or sheriff's department, to appointments at the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, Victim Witness services, and to court. SAVAS companions work to assure the victim's rights are protected. For information, call 703-497-1192.
Community Outreach/Education/Prevention
SAVAS is dedicated to eliminating the misinformation that surrounds the crime of sexual assault and child abuse. Education and prevention programs are offered in public and private schools, churches, and to community groups. Our goal is to educate community members and increase awareness and understanding of sexual violence dynamics. Programs can be designed to explore any aspect of sexual assault and can be targeted to audiences of any age and size. Youth, in particular, benefit a great deal from our prevention programs that center on dating violence, date rape drugs, sexual harassment, and child sexual abuse. For information, call 703-497-1192.
Self-Defense Education and Training
SAVAS offers the RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) Program, Advanced RAD and radKIDS classes to the community. This is an education and awareness and defense program designed to help children and adult community members that emphasizes awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance. The adult’s program progresses to the basics hands-on defense training, while the children’s program centers on violence prevention and personal safety education. For information, call Dee at 703-497-1192.
Professional Training
SAVAS trains professionals who work with survivors of sexual assault. The staff is knowledgeable about survivors' emotional and physical needs, the latest laws on sexual assault, and requirements for collecting evidence, survivors' rights and compensation benefits. For information call 703-497-1192.