Client Advocacy
Safe Shores’ Client Advocacy program is a family’s first point of contact at Safe Shores and works with children and their non-offending caregivers through every step to help families see and achieve a safe, new start.
Youth Advocacy
Adolescents between the ages of 13 to 17 who have been sexually assaulted in DC have rights under DC law, one of which is the right to an advocate. Safe Shores Youth Advocacy Specialists are there to help teens understand all of their options and support them in whatever choice they make.
Forensic Services
Safe Shores’ Forensic Services team coordinates and conducts neutral, fact-finding, and developmentally sensitive interviews with children affected by abuse and witnesses to violence.
In partnership with the Multi-Disciplinary Team agencies, our highly trained forensic team conducts one-on-one interviews with children, while team members watch on closed-circuit television, in order to not overwhelm the child while at the same time gathering as much information for various partners. Our goal is to ensure that the voices of children are heard and to prevent the need for a child to tell his or her story more than once.
Clinical Services
Safe Shores’ Clinical Services Program helps families on the road to healing from trauma and abuse by providing trauma-informed mental health services. The Clinical Services team provides a safe space for children to identify and overcome challenges, develop positive coping skills and build healthy relationships through talk therapy, play therapy, art therapy, sand-tray therapy and other modalities provided to child victims, their non-offending caregivers, and siblings.
Prevention and Outreach
Safe Shores’ prevention efforts are rooted in the belief that adults are the first line of defense in protecting children from abuse. Utilizing evidence-informed curricula, including Stewards of Children®, Safe Shores provides adults with information about the impact of child abuse and child trauma and equips them with skills to recognize, respond to, and prevent abuse.
Education and Training
Safe Shores’ offers trainings to teach adults how to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. Our programs are designed for individuals concerned about the safety of children as well as organizations that serve youth.
What to Expect During Your Appointment
From the art on our walls created by children across DC to the way our staff ensures a child-friendly atmosphere through their actions and appearance, every aspect of our building and services has been intentionally designed with children at the center.
Safe Shores utilizes the above services to respond to child sexual abuse as part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team of experts.
