April 5, 2024 | By Emilie Jacques
Copper Shores Community Health Foundation is proud to announce the launch of the Copper Shores Sexual Assault Hotline, which will be available to residents of Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw and Ontonagon counties. Launching in late spring, it will include phone, text and live chat support.
“When you call a general crisis line, they are really well trained for general crises,” Copper Shores Outreach & Education Program Director Kristine Martens said. “They can support and move people through that kind of crisis, but sexual assault is unique. Sometimes the tools we use for general crises aren't adequate for this particular type of trauma.”
The hotline will be staffed by trained professionals that know Michigan law and specific coping techniques and resources for victims of sexual assault. The advocate who answers the phone will provide the following:
- Confidential support from a trained sexual assault advocate
- Someone who is non-judgmental to listen to you as you share your story
- Assistance with how you share your story
- Referrals to support you within your community
- Resources to assist you on your healing path
All services will be confidential and free of charge. Advocates are trained to provide immediate crisis counseling, advocacy and referral. Regardless of the option, each survivor has an opportunity to not only be heard and share, but to be believed. This is essential for anyone who has experienced sexual assault.
Because this line is more specialized, a growing trend among hotlines, the advocates who answer the calls have a better capacity to answer the phones and connect people to local resources like the Sexual Assault Response Team and SANE nurses within the Copper Shores Victim Support division.
This addition to the services provided at Copper Shores overlaps with the departure of the Crisis Line that many community members have come to know. As calls for 988, the national suicide hotline, have continued to grow, the Crisis Line has experienced a steady drop in calls. The Copper Shores Crisis Line will be discontinued on June 1, 2024.
“This wasn’t a quick decision,” said Martens. “We have been looking at options since 2019. We had several minds on this, considering what was feasible and what the best support for the community would be. We are fully committed to serving our community and all survivors of sexual violence.”
The new Copper Shores Sexual Assault Hotline will be available 24 hours a day, every day starting in spring 2024. It is being launched in partnership with the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. It is one of the first hotlines in the state to be done in partnership with the MCEDSV.
