Looking back as we move forward

Sometimes, you just have to brag. We at STAR are doing amazing things, and we want to share our progress and positive experiences with you.

At STAR, we pride ourselves on accomplishing a lot with limited resources, which means most of the time we’re working hard and looking ahead. On a daily basis, we dedicate ourselves to improving outcomes for survivors of sexual trauma through direct and community services and to reducing levels of sexual violence in our service area.

For this month’s Services Spotlight, though, we want to pause and look back on some of our momentous developments from 2015.

Agency Expansion

• We opened an office and established a 24/7 hotline in New Orleans to enhance services to survivors of sexual trauma in the area.
• We hosted our most successful Hunks in Heels fundraiser yet, with over $66,000 raised.
• We partnered with Clay Young Enterprises to develop our agency’s first promotional video.
• We expanded our impact by hiring for seven additional positions in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

Survivor Services

• We launched our legal services program, which is the only program in Louisiana to offer legal services exclusively to sexual assault survivors at no cost.
• We launched the Sexual Assault Legal Clinic with LSU Law, which was the first of its kind in the nation.
• With greater awareness, reports of rape continue to increase. To meet this ever-expanding need, we continued providing counseling and advocacy services at no cost to survivors.

Systems Advocacy

• We assisted in the development of a new rape kit that was adopted by the Louisiana State Crime Lab as the statewide recommended rape kit.

Social Change

• Our Creating Change prevention workshop was selected as Louisiana’s 2015 Rape Prevention Education Success Story by the Louisiana Dept. of Health and Hospitals’ Office of Public Health in their annual report to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• We recruited and trained our 4th cohort of 3-D Peer Educators (funded by the Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund).
• We presented our first ever Social Change Impact Award to Amy Dellinger at our annual Evening of Appreciation for her in-kind assistance with data analysis and program evaluation.
• We continued to provide education to youth to prevent sexual violence and strengthen their abilities to engage in healthy relationships.

Our growth and development over the past year would not have been possible without the generous support of our funders and community partners. With your continued support, we look forward to another year of positive developments that will allow us to continue growing our capacity to serve survivors and reduce levels of sexual violence in South Louisiana. Thank you for your involvement in building a community free from oppression and sexual trauma!