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Dial Help offers support for victims of crimes

HOUGHTON — Virginia Lambert and Paige Setter-Hallwachs of Dial Help’s Victim Services, spoke at a free public program about mental health services and challenges in the community that took place last Wednesday at the Portage Lake District Library.

Among the services they discussed that are offered by and through Dial Help, they discussed its victims’ services, offered in the four-county area.

Services include those who are victims of:

– Sexual assault; this includes harassment, unwanted touching, rape or other sexual crimes, including childhood abuse

-Emotional, physical or sexual abuse, no matter how long ago it happened

– Other crimes, such as fraud, elder abuse or other crimes, and for domestic violence.

Other services provided are:

– 24/7 emergency advocates: Face-to-face support for victims of any crime who choose to go to the hospital, police department or other locations.

– Advocates: Ongoing support for victims of crime and/or their loved ones.

Setter-Hallwachs said she and Lambert, along with three others, are victim advocates who, together, are on call 24 hours a day, including weekends and holidays.

“We can respond if somebody needs to report a crime to the police, or if they need to go (to the hospital) for a forensic medical exam if they were sexually assaulted,” she said.

“We can go to court with you if your case goes to court,” Lambert said.

Advocates can sit in on police interviews as well as the medical exams. They can also assist victims with finding resources, because often times victims do not know what they need or what is available.

“You’re sitting there, you’re traumatized,” said Lambert. “You forget to eat, you forget that you have to go to work, and we’ll advocate on your behalf to try to help you kind of get yourself back together and back on track to heal.”

Also offered are:

– Child advocacy center: Providing services to child victims of sexual or physical abuse.

– Counseling: Free counseling for victims of any crime, past or present.

– Court accompaniment: Explanation of the court process and victim rights.

– Sexual assault nurse examiners: Providing forensic exams/court testimony for victims.

While Dial Help does not have housing properties, Setter-Hallwachs said Dial Help assists victims with finding housing.

“You can access Victim Services even if you don’t plan on participating in the legal system,” Setter-Hallwachs said.

There are support groups, she said. More information on them can be found at the website, dialhelp.org.

“Go to the events page,” she said. “I have support groups running this month.”

One, she said, is in person for crafting, and there will be an online group for those who do not want to attend in person.

Dial Help’s website explains who can attend support groups:

– Anyone over 18 years old who has experienced sexual violence in their life is invited to participate in Copper Country Safe Space. College Community Safe Space is for current college students who have experienced sexual violence in their life.

Participation is capped at 15 people per group meeting.

– Support groups are run by trained Victim Services staff from Dial Help. They ensure the comfort and safety of all participants, facilitate discussion and present materials to spark conversation.

– To ensure confidentiality and safety for all participants, people are asked to register in order to receive an invitation to join the online meeting. This helps prevent people from crashing or otherwise disrupting the group. To register, contact Paige at 906-482-9077 or psetter-hallwachs@dialhelp.org

– Privacy is protected: The only information collected is an email address where staff can send the invitation. No identifying information about participants, including the email address used to register, will be stored or shared with any person, organization or entity. Dial Help also requires participants to adhere to Dial Help guidelines. Participants agree to prevent other people from seeing or hearing the meeting and to never record or screen-capture the meeting.

For online groups, webcams and real names are not required.

“You can also choose to assign yourself whatever name you are comfortable with,” the site states. “We encourage people to include their pronouns with their name, if they are comfortable.”

– Children are not permitted to attend these support groups. Research shows that having children present while people are processing trauma may not be healthy for kids. Additionally, not everyone feels comfortable discussing their trauma in front of other people’s children, so their presence may be disruptive.

“Because of this,” the site states, “we cannot allow children in group. Our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause!”

Support groups are not the same as counseling or group therapy.

Counseling or therapy is a specific type of mental health treatment facilitated by trained and licensed mental health providers. Support groups are led by experienced staff members who are trained to facilitate a group of peers to share their experiences, process their feelings, practice new skills, and support one another in a safe and collaborative environment.

Setter-Hallwachs told the audience that during Sexual Assault Awareness Month (April), Victim’s Services ran their social media campaign for the fourth year.

“We’re really proud of that,” she said, “and we were also able to have our second annual Puppy Parade for Sexual Assault Awareness as well.”

In addition to having a busy month, Setter-Hallwachs said it was an opportunity to get information out about available services.

For anyone needing Victim Support or its programs, you can reach out to the following help lines:

Crisis contacts:

– Crisis call: 800-562-7622 or 906-482-HELP

– Crisis text: 35NEEDS (906-356-3337)

Dial Help, Inc.

609 Shelden Ave, Houghton, MI 49931

– Business Line: 906-482-9077

– Fax: 906-482-2502

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second part of the Dial Help article that was published in the Tuesday edition of the Daily Mining Gazette. The next installment in the Public Program series will examine a Houghton agency, Unite Mental Health & Wellness.

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