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The mission of the Rhode Island Victims' Advocacy & Support Center(RIVASC) is to provide all crime victims and their survivors with equal access to free direct services without discrimination.

Description:
When RI victims & communities are in crisis, RIVASC brings hope and healing through Project SOS (Survivors Outreach Services) by offering the only 24 hour/7 day response team to provide immediate crisis response; emergency financial assistance; criminal justice advocacy; grief education & support; counseling; support sessions; case management & other victim related services. This central agency was designed in collaboration with victims to address the practical issues that arise immediately following and long after a crime. Agency services are bi-lingual with informational materials available in Spanish. RIVASC responds to multiple victimization from a single event (9/11 attacks and the Station Nightclub fire). Other agency programs include Project VET (Victim Education & Training); Restorative Justice Projects (including
Victim/Offender Mediation); Post Incarceration Release
services and safety planning; and others. Agency contracts for victim programs include the RI Parole Board, DCYF, and the RI Dept. of Corrections, where RIVASC provides the victim component of the Offender
Reentry Initiative. RIVASC serves on the Medical Examiner's Commission, the Diocesan Child Protection Advisory Board, and is the RI Chair for the national
organization FORCE 100, dedicated to the protection of victims' rights and services.

History:
In the late 1980's, Family & Friends of Murdered Victims was formed as the first organization to address the needs of survivors of homicide victims in RI. FFMV was absorbed by the YWCA of Greater RI in 1995, under the project name Survivors Outreach Services, to accommodate a growing client base. SOS was designed by families of homicide victims to address the practical issues they felt were critical in the aftermath of crime. SOS, the only homicide program in RI, became a leader in victims' rights and services, by initiating legislative reform and expanding service offerings.
Rising crime rates, newly released offenders, and a large influx of immigrant populations, created complex challenges, in responding to the diverse needs of a fluid victim community. A major restructuring of program services, led to a more effective "one stop
shopping" approach in service delivery systems. The success of this initiative gave birth to the Rhode Island Victims' Advocacy & Support Center in 1999. In 2000, SOS was formally transitioned from the YWCA and became a program of RIVASC.
In response to client demand, RIVASC has evolved into a full service, comprehensive victim agency that addresses each component victims must access resulting from crime, in the immediate aftermath and through the period of offender reentry back into the community.

Contact person: Shelia Cardette Capece, President Board Of Directors, (401) 943-9266, (email)
Office fax number: 401-944-8065

Address:

875 Oaklawn Avenue Cranston, RI 02920 (See a map)

Directions:

When taking 95 NORTH or SOUTH, take the Route 37 West exit. Follow Route 37 until the end. At the end of Route 37, take a LEFT onto Natick Road. At the next light, take a LEFT. . . (more)

Miscellaneous Information

Handicap accessible?
	No
Interests Served:
	Solutions for Children, Youth, Families, Helping People in Crisis, Building Adult & Neighborhood Independence
Does your agency accept court-appointed volunteers?
	No