TAMPA, Fla. — A lot of tough stories have been told inside the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, including many accounts of sexual assaults.

Jill Vanderkam came in with a detective after being sexually assaulted in 2003. Even more than 20 years later, she remembers every detail of her care received at the Crisis Center. 

"Molly Ray, my nurse examiner, who I'll never forget, to treat me with such humility and kindness and respect and caution so that everyone could do their job with the evidence that she needed to collect," said Vanderkam. 

The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay is a certified rape crisis center for Hillsborough County and provides victim advocacy services and forensic exams at two locations.

Both of those rooms are used more than most realize. 

“We completed 362 rape exams last year. So you think about that, that's almost a rape a day. Statistically, we know for every one sexual assault that we're able to process here at the crisis center, we're missing two," said Clara Reynolds Crisis, President & CEO Crisis Center Tampa Bay.

Evidence can only be taken within 120 hours following an assault. In addition to the 362, there were another 448 people who came in outside that window. 

“Our goal is to help you reestablish control over your own body, which has been violated in this process," said Reynolds. 

The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay helps people move from being a victim to a survivor. 

“You go from this place of complete fear and paralysis to a place of comfort and safety and hope," said Vanderkam. “People that are going through their trauma today also need to know that how you feel today, you're not going to feel every day. And that was really important for me to see, to be hopeful of my own journey.”

The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay helps both men and women. It is open 24/7/365 and can be reached by calling 211.