22 Mar NYS Domestic and Sexual Violence Hotline Now Available in All State Prisons

New York State’s domestic and sexual violence hotline is now available to incarcerated individuals throughout the state prison system, providing crisis counseling, as well as access to support, additional counseling and advocacy for individuals who are victims or survivors of sexual assault or harassment.

With this implementation, New York has the most comprehensive victim support program available to survivors of sexual victimization in any state prison system in the nation. The 777 direct-dial number is available every day, in English, Spanish and other languages, at all 54 facilities operated by the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). Calls made to the direct-dial number, 777, are routed to Crisis Services in Buffalo, which has operated the state’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Hotline since 2010. Upon receiving a call from a state prison, Crisis Services’ staff provide crisis counseling and make referrals for additional services to PREA centers. These centers are a network of six current rape crisis and victim assistance programs across the state that have staff specifically trained to assist incarcerated individuals. All conversations are kept confidential.

Joanne Zannoni, Executive Director of the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said, “We are heartened by the efforts and commitment of so many who have made the statewide hotline a reality. The hotline represents another step on our journey to ensuring access to services for all sexual assault victims who are incarcerated.”

Many thanks to the PREA centers providing critical support to incarcerated survivors in New York: Crisis Services (Erie County), Crime Victims Treatment Center (Manhattan), RESTORE (Monroe County), Safe Harbors of The Finger Lakes, Inc. (Ontario, Seneca, Yates counties), The Sexual Assault and Crime Victims Assistance Program at Samaritan Hospital (Rensselaer County), and Victim Assistance Services at WestCOP (Westchester County).

For more information about NYSCASA’s role in PREA standards implementation in New York, read more here or contact E. Bjorkman, PREA Outreach Director, at ebjorkman@nyscasa.org.