Crisis Lines and National Resources

Crisis Lines & Shelters

• Covenant House Nineline
  Children and parents can reach out any time of the day or night for free, confidential, and immediate crisis intervention by dialing 1-800-999-9999.
• Hopeline – 1-800-SUICIDE
  The Hopeline Network brings together the knowledge and critical services of existing Crisis Centers all under the net of a toll-free number that is available to all.
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
  NCMEC provides assistance to parents, children, law enforcement, schools and the community to recover missing children and raising public awareness about how to prevent child abduction, molestation and sexual exploitation.
• National Runaway Switchboard
  A 24-hour crisis intervention for adolescents and their families as well as runaway prevention counseling.
• RAINN - Rape Abuse and Incest National Network
  An anti-sexual assault organization that operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.
• Children of the Night
  Children of the Night is an organization that is dedicated to assist children between the ages of 11-17 who are forced into prostitution in order to provide themselves food to eat and a place to sleep.

Referrals

• Alliance of Information and Referral Systems
  A professional association for programs throughout North America that provide information and referral for services in their respective communities.
• Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline
  A 24-hour seven days a week child abuse hotline with professional counselors providing crisis intervention, information, literature and referrals.
• United Way of America
  The United Way invests in and activates the resources to make the greatest possible impact in communities across America, there are local United Ways that have resource and referral information for each zip code.
• Stop it Now
  The Stop it Now! hotline provides resources to abusers and those at risk for abusing, helping them to stop the abuse and seek help. The helpline is available for abusers, people at risk to abuse, and their friends and family to call for information and resources.
• The Broken Spirits Network
  The Broken Spirits Network provides a comprehensive state by state list of shelters, hotlines and organizations that can provide help for potential victims, as well as a discussion forum where users can create their own virtual identity with complete confidentiality.
• National Children’s Alliance
  A nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide training, technical assistance and networking opportunities to communities seeking to plan, establish and improve Child Advocacy Centers. The Centers coordinate investigation and intervention services with professionals and agencies to create a team with a child-focused approach to sexual abuse cases.
• Office for Victims of Crime
  OVC provides an Online Directory of Crime Victim Services, a resource designed to help service providers and individuals locate nonemergency crime victim service agencies in the United States and abroad.
• Find-a-Therapist
  This organization offers a solution to the problem of connecting people to the right therapist as a Web-based provider of services for mental health professionals and their clients.
• MaleSurvivor
  Provides articles and a list of therapists who specialize in helping men who were sexually abused as children.
• NOMSV
  National Organization on Male Sexual Victimization (NOMSV) is an organization of individuals committed through research, education, advocacy, and activism to the prevention and elimination of all forms of sexual victimization of boys and men.
• WINGS Foundation, Inc.
  Fully describes what you need to do to find a therapist, as well as providing questions on what to ask in a phone conversation with your therapist and explanation of different credentials offered in the field.

Medical

• SANE-SART
  Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner-Sexual Assault Response Team (SANE-SART) are specifically trained to handle sexual assault examinations and help if you need to ensure that a victim is treated, examined and evidence is collected in a professional, caring and expeditious manner.

Legal

• State Liaison Officer for Child Abuse
  Provides the State Liaison Officer for child abuse and neglect in each state.
• Statutes for Child Abuse and Neglect
  Provides the state statues for child abuse and neglect.
• The Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center
  The OVCRC is an information clearinghouse for emerging victim issues by offering access to a criminal justice library to search for victim-related issues, in addition to information specialists ready to answer your questions, provide statistics and referrals.
• Justice for Children
  A national nonprofit organization of citizens concerned about children’s rights and their protection from abuse.
• National Crime Victim Bar Association
  A network of attorneys and allied professionals dedicated to facilitating civil actions brought by crime victims, along with a referral line to reach local attorneys.
• Kourts for Kids
  Kourts for Kids is a nonprofit organization of volunteers who are finding ways to better protect abused children in the family courts. By supporting an increase in awareness and education, they help promote change within regions where protection can and should be improved.
• National Organization for Victim Assistance
  An organization of victim and witness assistance programs and practioners, criminal justice agencies and professionals, medical health professionals, researchers, former victims and survivors, along with others committed to the recognition and implementation of victim rights and services.
• National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse
  Created by the National District Attorney, the NCPCA provides national and local training about child abuse, provides immediate technical assistance and creates publications on child abuse.
• Sex Laws
  Provides legal answers to questions on statutory rape and sexual assault.

Advocacy

• Justice for Children
  Justice for Children speaks on behalf of children who have no advocate in governmental systems. Also works to raise consciousness of our society about the failure of governmental agencies to protect victims of child abuse.
• National Association to Protect Children
  This membership association is committed to building a powerful, nonpartisan force for the protection of children from abuse, exploitation and neglect.
• National Association of Crime Victims Compensation Board
  The NACVCB is a network of professionals in state and local government crime victim compensation programs, working together to provide financial assistance for victims on the road to recovery from violent crime.
• Court Appointed Special Advocate
  CASA helped to pass the Victims of Child Abuse Act in 1990 and utilizes trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of children in court.
• National Organization for Victim Assistance
  An organization of victim and witness assistance programs and practioners, criminal justice agencies and professionals, medical health professionals, researchers, former victims and survivors, along with others committed to the recognition and implementation of victim rights and services.
• The Joyful Heart Foundation
  Founded by actress Mariska Hargitay, the Joyful Heart Foundation provides an extensive network of resources for women to let the light back in their life while banishing darkness and let healing begin.
• Making Daughters Safe Again
  MDSA offers a chat room and message board for adult women who were victims of mother-daughter sexual abuse providing opportunities for women to share their experiences in order to help the healing process.
• National Self-Help Clearinghouse
  A nonprofit organization that was founded to facilitate access to self-help groups and increase the awareness of the importance of mutual support.
• Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
  An organization of men and women who were sexually abused by spiritual elders who provide support groups and prevent further abuse through public education and advocacy.
• Survivorship – Survivors of Sadistic, Ritualistic Abuse
  Provides an educational forum and support services for survivors of sadistic sexual abuse, ritualistic abuse, torture, and mind control.
• Survivors of Incest Anonymous
  A 12-step self help recovery program modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous for men and women 18 years and older who were sexually abused as children.
• Survivors of Educator Sexual Abuse & Misconduct Emerge
  SESAME works as a voice for the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment of students by teachers and other education staff.
• The Awareness Center
  An international organization dedicated to addressing childhood sexual abuse in Jewish communities around the world by offering information and resources.
• GEMS                                                                                                                                        Girls Educational and Mentoring Services’ (GEMS) mission is to empower young women, ages 12–24, who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking to exit the commercial sex industry and develop to their full potential.

Offender Treatment & Resources

• Parents Anonymous
  Parents Anonymous groups meet in local community centers, churches, schools, shelters and prisons to build upon the strengths of parents to ensure that children grow up in safe homes. They also operate a 24-hour hotline to provide immediate response for parents seeking help.
• Sex Addicts Anonymous
  The 12-step fellowship of men and women who share both experiences and strength with one another, to allow members to be able to overcome their sexual addiction and help others to recover.
• Sexaholics Anonymous
  The SA program is a 12-step fellowship for men and women to overcome their sexual addictions.
• Sexual Compulsives Anonymous
  The SCA program helps men and women to overcome difficulties with sexual compulsion with state chapters, newsletters, support oriented chat rooms and an online bookstore.
• National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity
  NCSAC in a nonprofit organization dedicated to the awareness and understanding of Sexual Addiction, Sexual Compulsivity and Sexual Offending. They offer access to education, information and referral resources.
• Child Molestation Research and Prevention Institute
  Provides resources by state for sex-specific therapy. Also provides questions to ask when selecting a sex-specific therapist.
• The Safer Society Foundation, Inc.
  The Safer Society Foundation provides individuals, programs, professionals and family members with referrals to specialized programs that provide services for abuse-reactive children, juvenile and adult sex offenders through the United States.
• Stop it Now
  The Stop it Now! hotline reaches abusers and those at risk for abusing, helping them to stop the abuse and seek help. The helpline is available for abusers, people at risk to abuse, and their friends and family to call for information and resources.

Sex Offender Registry

National Sex Offender Public Registry

The National Sex Offender Public Registry, coordinated by the Department of Justice, is a cooperative effort between the state agencies hosting public sexual offender registries and the federal government. The National Public Registry allows you to search by a number of different criteria, including city, zip code, and county. www.nsopw.gov

State Sex Offender Registry Websites

The Investigative Programs Crimes Against Children unit of the FBI provides updated links to the sex offender registries of all 50 states. http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/states.htm

Sexual Offenders.com

This site allows citizens to share information they have about criminal sex offenders, exchange resource links, and post comments in a blog style community. www.sexualoffenders.com

Family Watchdog

This site allows visitors to enter an address into a field and a map of nearby registered sex offenders will be displayed. www.familywatchdog.us