Cascade and Hope Alliance Partner in New Domestic Violence Support Program

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Cascade Community Healthcare and Hope Alliance have partnered to roll out a new program to increase access to advocacy, peer support and therapy services to individuals experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault in Lewis County. 

“Oftentimes, survivors are tasked with navigating systems of care without adequate support. This program is innovative in its focus on increased care coordination that centers individual needs in treatment and safety planning,” said Hope Alliance and Cascade in a joint press release. 

The program enables advocates and a number of therapists to receive the state certification for the treatment of sexual assault with the Washington Coalition for Sexual Assault Prevention (WCSAP) and allows anyone seeking services to do so, regardless of their insurance status. 

“As we build capacity in our community for providing resources and support to survivors, we also hope that we can address the problem in a way that encourages policy-makers, attorneys, law enforcement, and local government authorities to consider how stakeholders can collaborate to educate, prevent and respond appropriately to survivor needs,” the press release stated.  

The program also aims to bring awareness about the problem of domestic violence in the community, which, according to recent data released by the state Department of Health, has only worsened since the onset of COVID-19. 

According to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC), reports of domestic violence across the state have increased by 14 to 20% compared with data from the same period in 2019. 



“Moreover, reports of sexual assault appear to be on the rise in our rural community as well, with many individuals lacking access to supportive networks,” said the press release. “Anecdotal evidence suggests that the problem is likely more widespread than the data demonstrates, as residents oftentimes never report incidents of abuse, or, as a result of the widespread lack of broadband access in many parts of the county, are unable to connect with supportive services.”

The program is supported by a Victims of Crime Advocacy (VOCA) grant for Unmet Needs administered by the Washington Department of Commerce — but victim service coalitions are concerned that the state Legislature may significantly decrease the funding available for these VOCA grants. Washington state has seen three years of significant decrease in the federal VOCA award, but there has not been a steady decrease in funding, according to the state Department of Commerce. 

“We hope that in bringing awareness to the severity of the problem of domestic violence and sexual assault in Lewis County, we can also encourage our local government to work with us to devise creative solutions that will ensure that these vital services continue to be available,” said the press release. 

Hope Alliance is a nonprofit providing advocacy and shelter to survivors in the county and served over 700 individuals in the last fiscal year. Cascade Community Healthcare is a nonprofit behavioral health agency that served around 5,000 individuals last year.