Pennsylvania

COUNSELING AND OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES

ActionAIDS

Pennsylvania's largest AIDS service organization with offices in West, North, and Center City Philadelphia, ActionAIDS is a non-profit organization meeting the physical and emotional needs of men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS. ActionAIDS offers a complete range of services for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS including: advocacy, information and referrals, case management, housing counseling, and support groups. The Philadelphia Linkage Program provides services to HIV-positive individuals serving time in the Philadelphia County Jail System. Prison case managers work with inmates prior to release in order to ensure that they continue to receive medical, social, and other services after discharge. Referrals are coordinated outside the prison through ActionAIDS prison case managers. Please include the name of the inmate, the police photo identification number, and the name of the holding institution for each referral. ActionAIDS' services are available free of charge.

Alice Paul House

The Alice Paul House offers services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other violent crimes. Services include a 24 hour crisis hotline, individual and group counseling, advocacy and accompaniment, and a referral system to other social and community assistance agencies in Indiana County. These services are provided free of charge to survivors of crime and their families in Indiana County.

Center for Victims of Violence and Crime

The Center for Victims of Violence and Crime (CVVC) is a private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to help individuals, families and communities survive the trauma of violence and crime. Services include a 24-hour hotline, crisis intervention, counseling, information and referrals, and community education programs to those impacted by all forms of violence and crime including, but not limited to: adult and child sexual assault, physical assault, child and elder abuse, homicide, robbery, and burglary. All services are free of charge and available to survivors of violence and crime in Allegheny County.

Centre County Women's Resource Center

The Centre County Women's Resource Center is a not-for-profit organization providing services to victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence, including males, in Centre County. Services which may be available include: individual and group supportive counseling; 24-hour hotline; crisis intervention; accompaniment to medical, police, or court proceedings; and information and referrals to related community resources when appropriate. All services are free and confidential.

The Crime Victims' Center of Chester County, Inc.

The Crime Victims' Center (CVC) is a nonprofit organization offering services to victims of all types of crimes regardless of when the crime occurred. Services provided by CVC include: 24-hour crisis response; information and referrals, advocacy and accompaniment to police interviews, medical procedures, and court proceedings; individual and group counseling; and continued support services. No fees are charged for these services.

Crime Victim Center of Erie County

The Crime Victim Center of Erie County is a nonprofit agency providing assistance to all sexual assault survivors and their significant others. Programs and services of the agency are designed to reduce the occurrence of sexual assault and other violent crimes, restore crime victims to pre-assault level of functioning, and increase knowledge about victimization in the community. Available services include: 24-hour hotline, crisis intervention, counseling, accompaniment, support groups, and information and referrals. All services are free and confidential.

PASSAGES: Prevention and Service for Sexual Assault through Guidance, Empowerment, and Support 24-hour Hotline for All Counties: (800) 793-3620 Website: www.passagesinc.net

Clarion County

Clearfield County

Jefferson County

PASSAGES is dedicated to the provision of free and confidential services to the victims/survivors of sexual assault throughout Clarion, Clearfield, and Jefferson Counties. PASSAGES offers supportive counseling services to meet the immediate physical and emotional needs of all survivors. Beginning with a toll-free 24-hour crisis hotline, staff and volunteers can help people make the journey from victim to survivor of sexual assault. Individual and/or group counseling, as well as medical accompaniment and legal advocacy are available to all victims/survivors and their family members or friends.

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) is an organization working at the state and national levels to prevent sexual violence. To provide quality services to victims/survivors of sexual violence and their significant others, PCAR works in concert with its statewide network of 52 rape crisis centers to provide sexual assault services in all of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. All centers provide, at a minimum, services to victims/survivors of sexual violence and their significant others, including free and confidential counseling and intervention 24 hours a day; prevention education programs to schools and the public; and information and referrals. In addition to providing technical assistance in a variety of areas, the role of PCAR is to oversee the rape crisis centers' contracts, monitor relevant legislation and public policy issues, provide library resources and educational trainings, and create public awareness campaigns.

Philadelphia FIGHT

Philadelphia FIGHT is a comprehensive AIDS service organization providing primary care, consumer education, advocacy and research on potential treatments and vaccines. FIGHT has several programs designed specifically for HIV+ people who are currently incarcerated and recently released. FIGHT offers support and advocacy services to HIV+ people who are currently incarcerated. FIGHT also publishes Prison Health News, a quarterly newsletter for prisoners, family members, and medical staff, focusing on HIV, hepatitis, and other major illnesses in prison, free of charge. When HIV+ persons are released from jail, FIGHT offers several programs to help them, including peer support, medical care, and education specifically for ex-offenders.

The Rape and Victim Assistance Center of Schuylkill County

The Rape and Victim Assistance Center offers comprehensive services to survivors of sexual assault and their significant others in Schuylkill County. The Center provides a 24-hour hotline; individual counseling; hospital, law enforcement, and court accompaniment; victim advocacy services; and support groups for survivors and their significant others whose lives have been affected by sexual violence. All services are free and confidential.

SPHS CARE Center STTARS Program

The mission of the SPHS CARE Center is to support and promote the health and well-being of individuals and families with particular emphasis on eradicating the negative effects of substance abuse, sexual assault, and family dysfunction by providing counseling, education, advocacy, and other related services in the community. STTARS provides individual and group counseling, support groups, and accompaniment for medical and legal procedures for survivors of sexual assault. The toll-free crisis hotline is available 24 hours for sexual assault survivors and their loved ones. Trained volunteers and staff members provide support and offer information on available services. All services are free and confidential.

Susquehanna Valley Women in Transition

Susquehanna Valley Women in Transition offers counseling, shelter, and other emergency services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties in Pennsylvania. Staff members and trained volunteers are available to provide around-the-clock support, counseling, information and referrals to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. A trained sexual assault counselor offers support to those who have been raped or who are survivors of incest or childhood sexual assault. Services are free and confidential and available to both men and women.

Victim Services, Inc.

Victim Services Inc. is a comprehensive center for victims of sexual assault and other violent crimes in Somerset and Cambria Counties. Victim Services offers a 24-hour hotline, crisis intervention, medical and legal accompaniment, short-term counseling, support groups, and information and referrals to survivors of sexual assault and other violent crimes. All services are free and confidential.

William Way LGBT Community Center

The William Way Community Center seeks to encourage, support, and advocate for the well-being and acceptance of sexual and gender minorities through service, recreational, educational, and cultural programming. The Center offers a wide range of programs and services to the LGBT community including peer counseling, support groups, and social and recreational programs. Peer counselors are available to provide support and referrals by phone or in-person (by appointment), Monday–Friday from 6–9 pm. All counseling is free and confidential.

Women Organized Against Rape
One Penn Center
1617 John F Kennedy Blvd., Suite 1100
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Office: (215) 985-3315
24-hour Hotline: (215) 985-3333
TTY Hotline: (215) 564–1413
Website: www.woar.org
Email: Info@woar.org

Women Organized Against Rape (WOAR) is a non-profit organization that provides a range of services to survivors of sexual assault in Philadelphia. Services include a 24-hour hotline; crisis intervention; counseling for men, women, and children; court and hospital advocacy; and information and referrals. Counseling and information about sexual violence are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through WOAR’s hotline. WOAR staff and volunteers provide counseling and support for survivors receiving medical treatment in the emergency rooms at Episcopal Hospital in North Philadelphia and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Center City Philadelphia.

Women's Services, Inc. P.O. Box 537
Meadville, PA 16335
Office: (814) 724-4637
24-hour Hotline: (814) 333-9766
Toll-free 24-hour Hotline: (888) 881-0189
E-mail: womenser@windstream.net

Women's Services, Inc. is a nonprofit organization providing services to all survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Crawford County. Services include: individual and group supportive counseling; 24-hour hotline; crisis intervention; accompaniment to medical, police, or court proceedings; and information and referrals to related community resources when appropriate. All services are free and strictly confidential.

LEGAL RESOURCES

Lambda Legal: National Headquarters

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people, and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.

National Headquarters provides services for those who are located in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington D.C and accepts Legal Help Desk calls at any time during regular business hours (9 am-5:30 pm) and also Monday evenings from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

If Help Desk staff are busy helping other callers, your call will be routed to the Legal Help Desk voicemail. Please leave the following information: name, state, contact info, best time to reach you, and a brief message outlining your legal inquiry. A Help Desk staff person will return your call. It is usually most efficient for Help Desk callers to contact Lambda Legal by phone. If you are in a place where you are not able to make long distance calls, Lambda can make an appointment to call you. If you are absolutely unable to call, you may e-mail the organization at legalhelpdesk@lambdalegal.org or write to the addresses above.

Lewisburg Prison Project

The Lewisburg Prison Project (LPP) is a nonprofit organization that provides legal and other assistance to prisoners in Central Pennsylvania. LPP counsels and assists prisoners who write to them when they encounter problems they perceive as illegal or unfair. LPP's geographic coverage area includes four federal institutions (Allenwood, Lewisburg, McKean, and Schuylkill), 11 Pennsylvania state prisons, and 34 county jails in the middle district of Pennsylvania. LPP writes to and visits inmates and assists them by talking to prison authorities, furnishing inmates with appropriate legal materials, and evaluating the case as to whether it should proceed to litigation. In addition to communicating with prisoners in central Pennsylvania, the Lewisburg Prison Project distributes publications to inmates nationwide at a nominal fee.

Pennsylvania Bar Association

The Pennsylvania Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) refers callers to lawyers in the counties that do not have a referral service of their own. This service covers 45 of the 67 counties in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania Lawyers participate in this service on a voluntary basis and have indicated the areas of law in which they will accept referrals. There is no charge for contacting the LRS. By using this service, the participating attorney agrees to grant Referral Service clients an initial consultation of up to one half-hour for a fee of $30. The LRS operates Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

If you are looking for an attorney in a county listed below, please contact that county bar association's lawyer referral service (LRS) directly.

• Allegheny County, Pittsburgh: (412) 261-0518
• Beaver County, Beaver: (724) 728-4888
• Berks County, Reading: (610) 375-4591
• Blair County, Hollidaysburg: (814) 693-3090
• Bucks County, Doylestown: (215) 348-9413, (800) 479-8585
• Chester County, West Chester: (610) 429-1500
• Cumberland County, Carlisle: (717) 249-3166
• Dauphin County, Harrisburg: (717) 232-7536
• Delaware County, Media: (610) 566-6625
• Erie County, Erie: (814) 459-4411
• Lackawanna County, Scranton: (570) 969-9600
• Lancaster County, Lancaster: (717) 393-0737
• Lehigh County, Allentown: (610) 433-7094
• Luzerne County, Wilkes-Barre: (570) 822-6712
• Mercer County, Mercer: (724) 342-3111
• Monroe County, Stroudsburg: (570) 424-7288
• Montgomery County, Norristown: (610) 279-9660
• Northampton County, Easton: (610) 258-6333
• Philadelphia County, Philadelphia: (215) 238-1701
• Washington County, Washington: (724) 225-6710
• Westmoreland County, Greensburg: (724) 834-8490
• York County, York: (717) 854-8755

Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project
718 Arch Street, Suite 304 South
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Office: (215) 925-2966
Website: www.pailp.org
E-mail: alove@pailp.org

Pittsburgh Office

The Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project provides a full range of civil legal assistance to incarcerated or institutionalized low-income people whose constitutional rights have been violated. Some of the types of services the PA Institutional Law Projects provides are: direct representation of individuals based on the merit of their case and program priorities, information and referrals, class representation of groups of individuals sharing common problems, and legislative and administrative advocacy. Assistance is provided to prisoners in the federal, state, or county jails throughout the Commonwealth.

GOVERNMENT RESOURCES

Office of Professional Responsibility, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

The Office of Professional Responsibility at the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections conducts criminal and administrative investigations of violations involving inmates, staff, volunteers, visitors, contractors, vendors or any outside source that would have an adverse effect on the orderly operation of DOC facilities. The Office of Professional Responsibility also initiates prosecutions in accordance with appropriate criminal justice procedures. It is also responsible for monitoring all factions of allegations of inmate abuse and reviews institutional investigations and conducts independent investigations relative to those allegations as required.

Secretary’s Office of Inmate Grievances and Appeals

When contacting the Secretary’s Office of Inmate Grievances and Appeals, inmates must include photocopies of the initial grievance, all responses, and all appeals. Indigent prisoners may receive copy service. The Secretary’s Office of Inmate Grievances and Appeals has 30 working days from receipt of inmate appeal to respond. Further information about the grievance procedures can be found in DC-ADM 804.

JDI has directly contacted each organization listed in the Resource Guide in hopes of pointing survivors toward those currently accepting new clients. However, the inclusion of any group or individual in the Resource Guide does not necessarily constitute an endorsement or recommendation by JDI, nor can JDI guarantee the availability of the services described here.