Name: Ihotu
Organization: Crime Victims Treatment Center (serving St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
Q: How long have you been a Rape Crisis Advocate?
I am a newbie! I just completed my training last fall and have been on-call about 6 times now.
Q: How did you become a Rape Crisis Advocate? Is it your full-time job? If not, what is your full-time job?
I moved to New York City last August from Washington, DC, to attend Columbia’s School of Public Health. So, being a poor and idealistic graduate student is my current “full-time job” and I volunteer on the side, about once every 2 weeks. I heard about the NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault Advocates through a Columbia alumni during my orientation, and decided right away to apply for a program to volunteer in a hospital nearby.
Q: Why did you become a Rape Crisis Advocate?
First and foremost, I am a co-survivor. I watched my mother suffer in an abusive relationship for many years, and some time ago I reached the realization that helping others in similar situations helped me relieve those past memories and understand myself better. So, the choice was a personal one. But it was also very much professional.
I had some prior experience volunteering in a Women’s Shelter in Minneapolis, Minnesota (my hometown) and had done research as an undergrad student on domestic violence in African immigrant communities. I knew this was an issue I wanted to learn more about and get some hands-on experience with, and I wanted to learn about the programs and policies dealing with sexual violence in New York City. So I hit the ground running… attended weekend trainings in between taking my first round of graduate school midterm exams (not an experience I’d recommend) and became an official “advocate.”
Q: Describe a “typical” day as a Rape Crisis Advocate. What is a day like if you are not called? What is the process once you do receive a call? What is it like for you while on-call?
Well, thus far I’ve been called in 3 times, and none has really had anything “typical” about them. As a new advocate, my first few times of being on-call were absolutely nerve-wrecking! Every time the phone would ring I would jump (usually it was my mom and then my heart would return to a normal speed), but I carried my phone with me everywhere – to the bathroom, to my dance class, (nearly) into the shower. When I was on-call at night I was so nervous at first I couldn’t sleep well, and turned my phone volume up high so I’d make sure not to sleep through a call from the hospital. I kept thinking about what was going on in the city and if something horrible was happening that I would soon find out about. It was kind of unpleasant, actually, but then I’d make it to the end of my shift without a call and feel somewhat relieved that no one had been assaulted for that period of time. Or at least no one came into my particular hospital.
It was a Saturday afternoon the first time I was called in. I was getting used to the low-level anxiety of being on-call (it became more bearable with time), and had just come back home from dance class and finished showering when the phone rang. It wasn’t my mom. J A woman asked for my name and mentioned that a young woman about my age had been admitted to the hospital, and I said I would be at the ED in 20 minutes. I frantically called a cab service up in Washington Heights, and spent a painful 20 minutes riding down to the hospital where I reviewed in my head all the phrases and reminders I had learned in training. I had packed a bag of kids toys, magazines, snacks and notes to myself to be prepared for anything. I was nervous. And yet when I arrived, the tension literally disappeared as I introduced myself and began talking gently with the survivor.
After a couple other times of being called in, including once in one day (after which I slept the whole next day, I was so tired), I learned a kind of routine of speaking with the head nurse, checking in with the survivor, and going through the often long process of speaking with police (if they’re called), checking in with co-survivors in the room, filling out forms and waiting to pick them up, taking oodles of medications, hearing back about test results, and talking through what the survivor can do to keep him or herself healthy in the hours and days and months after leaving the ED. That usually involves a plug for the Crime Victims Treatment Center, which helps me feel like I’m leaving the survivor in good hands. Sometimes a child is there, which can make the mood a bit lighter as they play and make jokes. I often go out to get the survivor some food, as the medications can make them sick. So there are definite moments that are more and less heavy than others. I usually go home exhausted and unsure of how the time passed so quickly, but I am happy to have seen the survivor become more confident and secure by the end of the time, and I hope the experience was a bit more bearable than if I hadn’t been there. Although I’m sad that they had to go through that experience, seeing “thank you” in the eyes of a survivor leaves a great sense of gratification.
Q: What kinds of sexual assault victim services does [Organization] provide?
Crime Victims Treatment Center (CVTC) offers many other services beyond the Rape Crisis Advocate program, including extended counseling with survivors and their families, assistance with financial aid applications, legal and housing assistance and alternative therapies such as acupuncture. The way I interact with them is by referring the survivors I see in the Emergency Department to CVTC for follow-up. I always explain to survivors that I represent CVTC, and that they offer FREE services with very nice J people who are experienced. The survivor is usually relieved to hear that part about it being free. I would!!
Q: What areas of NYC are serviced by your Rape Crisis Program?
St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital sites are at about 114th Street and Broadway, near Columbia University, and at 60th Street and 10th Avenue, just north of Times Square. I believe we cover mostly the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, West Harlem and into Washington Heights, which is where I live. Crime Victims Treatment Center is located at the St. Luke’s location on 114th Street.
Q: How can people learn more about [Organization]?
Check out our website! There’s also a super cute video/interview on youtube.
Q: What advice do you have for people interested in volunteering?
Just do it! I have done so many different types of volunteering, from serving or delivering meals to political canvassing to teaching Sunday school, and being a Rape Crisis Advocate is most definitely one of my most significant experiences. I’m still learning what it is to be an Advocate, and I realize it is much broader than working in the hospital – it’s building relationships with similar organizations and people in New York, paying attention to bills and policies, and advocating with hospital staff, police, and more.
But at its core, it’s about entering the life of another person for a span of a few hours, and being completely selfless in the way that you might always wish someone would do for you. It’s a chance to engage with someone, even in their most private moments, and to do it in a positive way and be confident that you can help them feel less shame and more pride for the efforts they took to take care of their health against all odds. It’s inexplicable. It’s powerful. It’s raw. And I really feel like I’ve “made a difference” beyond the overstated cliché.
I’d say to new volunteers: be open, be humble, be flexible and expect the unexpected. But most of all, just do it.
Q: What current event has your attention the most right now?
Of course, Haiti. Like much of the world right now. I have several close friends who were affected by the earthquake, and I was actually in the midst of planning a trip to volunteer on the island for spring break this year. So it’s all hit close to home, and like everyone it seems I’m watching CNN and NPR and reading the New York Times to keep abreast of updates and keeping my Haitian-American neighbors in my thoughts and prayers.
But as I’ve been keeping up with the UN updates on the health situation in Port-au-Prince, I’ve seen notices of sexual violence in the transitional camps. I don’t know the details, but I’ve learned from my studies that sexual violence sparks more often in times of crisis, and especially with the limited medical services – not to mention extremely limited reproductive health services – I’m just hoping and praying for survivors there now.
Q: What is the most significant change in the City’s services since you have been working as a Rape Crisis Advocate?
As you know, I haven’t been there long at all! But I did hear that the hospital was considering introducing rapid HIV testing on site for survivors… meaning that survivors would find out immediately if they had HIV. This would be probably not as a result of the assault if it had just occurred that night, but rather if it had been contracted from a partner or elsewhere. What a blow. I can’t imagine working with a survivor dealing with all the stresses of the Emergency Department and all the tests and medications and questions, and then hearing that he or she had HIV on top of everything else. In my opinion, it would be even more important to have an advocate there to as a friendly face and a support.
