Sexual Assault Response and Awareness

Sexual Assault Response and Awareness, Inc. (sara) is the Sexual Assault crisis center that serves the roanoke valley. Sara provides direct services to victims of Sexual violence and their families in the form of 24-hour crisis intervention; emotional support; on-going counseling and therapy; personal advocacy; emergency room and court accompaniment; information and referral; and, criminal justice support. We maintain 24-hour Sexual Assault crisis hotline staffed by specially trained volunteers. We provide trauma- informed therapy and counseling services. We conduct allied professional training on the issues surrounding Sexual violence. We coordinate and oversee the area's Sexual Assault Response teams (sart) comprised of prosecutors, law enforcement, victim-witness, victim services and forensic nurses. All sara services are free, voluntary and confidential. During fiscal year 2023, sara provided direct support services to 607 victims of Sexual violence.