Coeur d’Alene Donates $10,100.00

The Women’s Center, doing business as Safe Passage was founded as a rape crisis center in 1977 in Coeur d’Alene. Today, we are one of the largest victim service organizations in the state of Idaho. We provide responsive services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child victimization, reaching over 1,300 survivors every year. Our comprehensive services include: 24-hour crisis lines staffed by trained advocates; Confidential safe shelter (the focus of this application); 24-hour response to support victims of sexual or domestic violence who are treated at the hospital; Court advocacy to help survivors navigate the civil and criminal judicial system, explore and acquire protection orders, and access other legal services to increase safety; Free crisis counseling for survivors, children, or non-offending caregivers whose children have been victims of physical or sexual abuse; Advocacy and forensic interviewing at our North Idaho Children’s Advocacy Center where children who have alleged sexual or physical abuse begin the investigative process in a trauma-informed environment; and Housing advocacy and temporary housing assistance for survivors who leave their abusers and need help to establish their own permanent residence. In addition, we

All Heart Infusion was started to provide expert home infusion nursing care independent of a pharmacy we serve patients in Spokane and Coeur D’ Alene. Before starting we found that there was a lack of options and resources for patients, especially those without insurance or on state insurances like Medicare or Medicaid. Many of those people experience financial hardships due to the underlying cost of chronic illness. To address this issue, we started our charity care program which provides our care at no cost to the patient. One example of a person who benefits from this program is a woman who has type 1 diabetes and a condition call gastroparesis this causes extreme bouts of nausea and vomiting to the point that she requires IV hydration. She is on state insurance and before our care she would go to the ER and wait many times up to 6 hours to receive minimal hydration, not truly addressing the issue. Now we see her 2-3 times a day and provide 2-3 bags of hydration, she has not been to the ER in 1 year. We provided over 2,000 hours of nursing care through our charity care program in 2018.

CASA supports trained Advocates for over 400 child abuse and neglect victims in North Idaho. Advocates investigate child protection cases, represent the child’s best interest in court and help find them a safe home with a forever family. Our vision is that every child victim (age 0-18) in the five northern counties under the purview of the Child Protective Act is appointed a CASA who will advocate for and represent the best interests of the child for the entirety of their child protection case. “Calls for service pertaining to Child Abuse are up 56% from last year in Coeur d’Alene City alone” With the growing number of child victim cases, the need to recruit and train CASAs is more important than ever. The results for these kids with Advocates are proven positive. A child with a CASA is half as likely to re-enter the Foster-care system, more likely to succeed in school and more likely to find a safe and permanent home.