Local sexual assault center provides free, confidential help to adult ...

“They may choose to report (the assault) or not,” she said. “In any case, what they tell us is confidential.”

The Cottage Sexual Assault Center in Athens was originally established in 1974 in response to a serial rapist in the Athens community. The hotline was manned by volunteers only.

Since then, the Cottage and its staff have developed a close working relationship with local law enforcement and the Family Protection Center, located near by. Both facilities are located near the Athens-Clarke County Police Station.

Sheppard, who has been the executive director for five years, says about half their clients come through the crisis hotline, with the remainder being referred by law enforcement in the counties they serve.

In addition to providing immediate assistance to victims, the Cottage is available for follow up care, including therapy and support groups. All of this is free of charge and completely confidential, Sheppard stressed.

“When someone calls in on the hotline, we are willing and ready to talk with them,” she said. “We validate what they are going through, listen to them and empower them by giving them options as to what they can do. For adults, there a lot of things they can do, and we let them know they have choices. If they want to have an exam at 2 a.m. on a Monday morning, then that’s what we do.”

Sheppard says they have handled approximately 115 adult cases in the counties of Madison, Clarke, Oconee and Oglethorpe over the last year, with about five of those coming from Madison County.

“We know there are many more out there who need our services,” she said. “We want them to know that we are here to help.”

Sheppard says she knows there are many adult survivors of child molestation who may have never sought help in dealing with what happened to them.

“That is a population that has not been tapped,” she said. “We’d like to reach out to them.”

In addition to Sheppard, Devon Sanger is on staff as an adult advocate. She works with victims one-on-one and also conducts support groups.

“I especially enjoy working with clients one-on-one,” she said. “I want them to know they have support and to add some normalcy to what they are going through, while guiding them towards therapy and healing.”

Sheppard says it is important to let victims of sexual abuse know that they are not alone and that what happened is never their fault.

“Many of them say, ‘my life will never be the same’ and ‘my life has changed forever’ and both those things are true,” she said. “But we are all changed by our experiences and we want to guide them to a place of acceptance and growth. That takes a long time, a lot of patience and hard work.”