Red Deer’s CASASC spearheads launch of new province-wide sexual assault support services

“We proved how good and how important it is for the community to have different access to the service, which is more-safe and more-easy for them when the people don’t want to talk on the phone, they can text” she explains. “They don’t have to listen to their own voice, they don’t have to turn the light on. It’s so easy for them to talk to someone immediately.”

As a result, One Line is a province-wide first-response platform that connects survivors to local and regional services from additional centres now in Calgary and Edmonton.

“Til yesterday, we were the only one in the country offering text-webchat for sexual assault,” declares Arango. “It’s very neat for Red Deer and for central Alberta to be able to say, “Yes, we were the pioneers in offering this service to the community.”

With Alberta’s #IBelieveYou campaign and the #MeToo movement dramatically increasing demand for sexual assault services, in some centres, including Red Deer, demand has more than doubled.

“In the beginning, we can say 40 calls a month,” recalls Arango. “With text and webchat, we have doubled the numbers. So the people are feeling more-free to access the service when they’re just talking on the computer over the phone.”

Government officials say the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services (AASAS) has developed the new One Line platform in partnership with the Government of Alberta, Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse and Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton.

However, Arango notes an important difference between the provincial service and the one offered locally throughout central Alberta.

“The difference between both services is we are 24 hours,” says Arango. “The One Line is 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.,” she explains. “We will help probably with nights and weekends because we see more people accessing the service on nights and during the weekends. During the weekdays, we have the line here and the services are provided by professionals and on nights and weekends, we have 65 very well-trained volunteers.”

Arango now anticipates more victims to be helped with the formation of the new province-wide partnership, citing continued community support from central Albertans as a key to One Line’s future success.

“When we first started fundraising, we did a gala,” says Arango. “Since then, we’ve been working with the community’s support. I just hope now with the government involved, they will see the work that we are doing and help us.”

AASAS officials say One Line will be staffed by trained, specialized responders, both paid and volunteer.

Support will be available 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. seven days a week with access to interpretation services in over 200 languages, including Cree.

How it works: Anyone can call-text-chat by contacting 1-866-403-8000.

Alberta’s One Line responders will listen, provide non-judgmental support and information and resources to aid in the next steps in the caller’s healing journey.

#ArmsOpen Campaign: The service will be promoted through a digital campaign called #ArmsOpen featuring real Albertans sending a message of love and support to survivors.

Participants will post images of themselves with #ArmsOpen in front of their community welcome-signs to illustrate that support for survivors is available to everyone, and, no matter where you live across Alberta, “our arms are open”.

The campaign will be supplemented by simultaneous launch events in eleven Alberta communities.

(With files from Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services and Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre)

by Sheldon Spackman

Red Deer’s CASASC spearheads launch of new province-wide sexual assault support services

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