The Turning Point is the only rape crisis center in Collin County and for 30 years it has served individuals at the most painful intersections of their entire lives. The Turning Point’s services go far beyond the initial crime report. Their mission–providing counseling, education, and advocacy for those impacted by sexual violence–is more important now than ever before.
Offering a chance for hope and change, The Turning Point serves the community with patience, compassion and courage. Their ongoing projects include work with PISD schools to educate kids on bullying prevention, therapy, a 24-hour crisis hotline and much more, all are free of charge.
The Turning Point is amazing because of the sheer amount of help they offer to people in need. In 2016 The Turning Point received 1,441 hotline calls from people affected directly or indirectly by sexual violence. In 2016 they took 1,441 hotline calls from those in crisis. Their trained volunteers made 374 hospital calls for survivors of sexual violence, a 30 percent increase from 2015.
A rising tide may lift all boats, but as Collin County continues to boom, The Turning Point’s client base and workload have increased. There are simply more people to serve.
Jess Ferricher began volunteering with The Turning Point in 2015 and she focuses on raising awareness about sexual assault and garnering support from the local community to do more.
Though government grants cover many of their services, they don’t cover their education programs which are vital to their work. In 2016 The Turning Point impacted 26,810 individuals through outreach and 11,573 students in education programs which are life-changing for survivors of sexual assault in Collin County.
One potential venture could be opening a clinic of their own where they can provide all of their much-needed services to the growing community of Collin County.
“Eloise House at SafePlace set up a clinic in Austin and it was very successful,” Jess reports. Eloise House is a nonprofit organization in Austin that The Turning Point has partnered for the past two years. “There was definitely an increase in calls for the hotline. Clients could go there for whatever they needed.”
For example, not all hospitals have trained SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners) on staff. The Turning Point has contracts with 11 to 12 hospitals and can send SANE nurses to the patient if one is not available, providing forensic investigations which may not otherwise be available. Furthermore, sexual assault survivors qualify as Trauma 2 patients, meaning that only patients in critical condition are seen before they are. Still, The Turning Point reports that sometimes their clients still wait hours at a hospital to be given a rape kit. A clinic could not only be a safe place just for survivors, but it could ease the burden on local hospitals and SANE nurses who currently drive all over the metroplex to meet their patients.
Regardless of what the future holds for The Turning Point, they will continue to serve Collin County.
The Turning Point | 3325 Silverstone Dr., Plano | 972.985.0951 | 24-hr Crisis Line 800.886.7273 | theturningpoint.org
