Frequenty Asked Question
For forensic examinations, a patient must contact the police for assistance.
Courage Center clients are brought to the agency via report of the crime and a formal process is started to conduct a multi-disciplinary child forensic interview.
For mental health services, you must be a victim of a current or past crime and live within Solano County. Please call the Solano Trauma Recovery Center at 707-920-2555 or complete referral form below.
If you are a victim of violence and need assistance, please call is at our 24/7 Crisis Line at @ 530-796-1889.
Monday – Friday 7am – 6pm.
We also have 24/7 Crisis Line for after-hours assistance:
530-796-1889
Our office is located at 1261 Travis Blvd, Suite 260 in Fairfield, CA 94533.
Our business address is 1141 Pear Tree Lane, Suite 220 in Napa, CA 94558.
Clinical Services
TRC clients have free access to full wrap around services including free mental health therapy. The services provided by our clinicians include ; Individual Therapy, Case Management (help with needs such as housing based on eligibility and available funding, shelter, legal advocacy and linkage to medical care within the SART team or the Solano Family Justice Center and their county resources. Services are free to eligible clients, regardless of citizenship status or Financial position.
What services do you provide?
- Individual and Group Mental Health Treatment
- Psychiatric Care
- Brief Substance Abuse Counseling and Referrals
- Case Management
- Assertive Outreach
- Treatment Planning
- Basic Needs Support
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking exists in every county, including the United States. It exists nationwide – in cities, suburbs, and rural towns – and IN SOLANO COUNTY.
Local resources include: www.solanoithappenshere.org
Victim Advocacy
What Does A Victim Advocate Do?
Victim advocates are trained to support victims of crime. They offer confidential emotional support, victims’ rights information, help in finding needed resources and assistance in filling out crime victim related forms. Our advocates frequently accompany victims and their family members through the criminal justice proceedings. Advocates work with other organizations, such as criminal justice or social service agencies, to get help or information for the victims we serve. Our advocates staff our 24/7 crisis hotline.
Advocacy services include:
- Crisis intervention
- Emotional support
- Resources and referrals
- Information on victimization
- Assistance with Crime Victims Compensation application
- Information on legal rights and protections
- Information on criminal justice process
- Intervention with landlords, creditors and employers on behalf of the victim
- Information on crime prevention
- Assistance with funeral/memorial arrangements
- Assistance with safety planning
- Assistance in navigating the medical systems
If You Are a Victim
It may be difficult for you to reach out for help, but by contacting our agency for victim services you will find that our victim advocates can offer you information, support, and access to helpful services that you may not know about. Many victims are relieved to know our agency strives to make sure victims are helped and receive the tools they need to recover from the impact of their crime.
Sexual Assault
What is a rape kit?
You may have heard the term “rape kit” to refer to a sexual assault forensic exam. The term rape kit actually refers to the kit itself—a container that includes a checklist, materials, and instructions, along with envelopes and containers to package any specimens collected during the exam. A rape kit may also be referred to as a Sexual Assault Evidence Kit (SAEK). The contents of the kit vary by state and jurisdiction and may include:
- Bags and paper sheets for evidence collection
- Comb
- Documentation forms
- Envelopes
- Instructions
- Materials for blood samples
- Swabs
Preparing for a sexual assault forensic exam
If you are able to, try to avoid activities that could potentially damage evidence such as:
- Bathing
- Showering
- Using the restroom
- Changing clothes
- Combing hair
- Cleaning up the area
It’s natural to want to go through these motions after a traumatic experience. If you have done any of these activities, you can still have an exam performed. You may want to bring a spare change of clothes with you to the hospital or health facility where you’re going to have the exam.
In most cases, DNA evidence needs to be collected within 120 hours in order to be analyzed by a crime lab—but a sexual assault forensic exam can reveal other forms of evidence beyond this time frame that can be useful if you decide to report.
Sexual assault and domestic abuse exams are performed by specially trained registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and physicians. Not every hospital or health facility has someone on staff that is specially trained to perform a forensic exam. In Solano County, exams are done at North Bay Medical Center in Fairfield and Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Vallejo. In Napa County, exams are done at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa. In Marin County, exams are done at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Rafael. Per Penal Code, exams are provided at no cost to victims.
For general questions, you can call the Nation Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or to find out where to go in your area.
It is normal for survivors to react in shock and disbelief, followed by extraordinary distress including anger, fear, confusion, frustration, guilt, and grief. That tumultuous reaction does not mean you are “going crazy”. Rape Trauma Syndrome or RTS is a specific category of post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by intense feelings of helplessness. RTS is specific to the experience of the rape survivor and usually includes issues of intimacy, touching, sexual function, and shame, and is usually expressed in three phases:
- Stage One: Acute
Occurs immediately after the assault, includes feelings of disbelief, shock, shame and guilt. - Stage Two: Outward Adjustment
Days, weeks or months following the assault, the survivor resumes what appears to be a “normal” life. Inside, however, there is considerable turmoil which can manifest itself in depression, powerlessness, anxiety, or re-triggering. - Stage Three: Resolution
After the survivor has dealt emotionally with the trauma the sexual assault is no longer the central focus in the survivor’s life. They begin to recognize that while she/he will never forget the assault, the pain and memories associated with it are lessening.
You may find that friends and family expect that you should be ready to move on with your life as soon as they are ready to stop thinking about it. Those who understand sexual assault know that the trauma is not a simple thing to recover from. Being assaulted affects everyone differently, and everyone recovers at his or her own pace. Most people who are assaulted experience symptoms of Rape Trauma Syndrome and, although symptoms do get better over time, it is very normal to continue to think about and deal with the assault long after it happened. Getting counseling can provide you with a safe person to talk to and skills to cope with your feelings and reactions. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself to react or feel a certain way. There is no time period or deadline when you should “get over it”. Healing from such a violation is a complicated and individual process. Take as long as you need to let yourself heal.
