TAMPA, Fla. – The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay plans to open a second sexual assault services facility in Ruskin to help better serve clients in southern Hillsborough County.
"It takes three and a half hours by bus to get from Ruskin to here, if you can catch a bus, for an exam that can take upwards of five hours, and then have to take another bus down," said Clara Reynolds, the center's president and CEO.
The new facility will be located in the South Shore Community Resource Center on 14th Ave. S.E. in Ruskin. Reynolds said it will bring the same resources to clients as the current location in its Tampa offices, including the ability to receive a rape kit and connecting them to a victim advocate, as well as providing any items they may need.
"It's usually always clothing, and so rather than dressing somebody in some scrubs or my used yoga outfit, we want to make sure that we're providing tags still on clothing, brand new toiletry products to, again, start that path of moving somebody from being a victim of sexual assault to being a survivor of sexual assault," said Reynolds.
According to the crisis center, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners recently approved a license agreement allowing the center to use the space.
"That was the beautiful thing. If there's any positive to COVID, many of our government offices recognize that they didn't have to do as much in person anymore, and so there was beautiful space available in those communities," Reynolds said.
Reynolds said currently, fewer than ten percent of the people who come to the center seeking sexual assault services are from southern Hillsborough.
"So, when we think about the growth that has happened in that south county community, to know that less than ten percent are coming here for their rape exam, that tells us right there," Reynolds said of the need for the new location. "We know for every one exam that we do, we miss two, so we're only getting 30% of the exams, anyway."
The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay is the certified rape crisis center for Hillsborough County. Meagan Pilawski said she learned how crucial those services can be two years ago. She was sexually assaulted after being drugged on a blind date, and law enforcement at the hospital pointed her to the center.
"I was met by a wonderful, wonderful nurse, and they just took their time with me. It was a really scary and daunting process. I had to go through a rape kit. I had to take some precautionary medication to protect myself, but they really didn't let me leave without knowing the type of services and that I was going to be followed up with," Pilawski said.
After that initial visit, Pilawski said she took part in a support group, and the center checked in regularly. When she had to get a copy the police report for her case, someone from the center met her at the Tampa Police Dept. so she didn't have to walk in by herself. She said she's glad to know the center's services will become more accessible to those in need.
"I think the follow-up is super important," Pilawski said. "You know, it's one thing to have a three-hour drive on the night that something bad might have happened to you, and it's another thing if you really need weekly follow-up and support."
Pilawski said she's doing well now. She no longer attends the support group, but said the center still checks in. She said two years ago, she never could've imagined being in the place she is today.
Meagan Pilawski says yoga and meditation, in addition to services provided by the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, helped her heal following a sexual assault.
"It gives me a lot of hope for when I see someone else in the position that I was in, because I truly do know what it feels like to be utterly and completely hopeless," Pilawski said. "Just have to go through it and release it, and I'm just really grateful to be here today."
The crisis center's new sexual assault services facility is expected to open in August. Anyone in need of services can call 211. For more information about the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, click here.