HANCOCK COUNTY — For the first time, survivors of sexual assault in Hancock County won't have to travel to another county for medical attention specifically for them.
Through a grant, the Hancock Community Health Network is launching the county's first Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program. Survivors in Henry County will also be served. The program will allow survivors to get sexual assault exams in a secure and comfortable environment.
"Our goal is to bring the community together and make sexual assault something that we talk about on a regular basis. It happens here in our community and we have the need for this sexual assault nurse examiner program ... we want it to be successful," Aimee Herring, Hancock County Chief Deputy Prosecutor, said. "We want our survivors to walk away feeling like every interaction they've had from the point of their first disclosure to the end of any potential investigation to feel like their best interest is at heart."
From 2006 to 2016, the prosecutor’s office did not get a single conviction for rape. Earlier this year, the county created a new Sexual Assault Response Team, or SART, which is comprised of police, prosecutors, victim advocates and medical professionals. The program's goal is to coordinate a victim-centered, collaborative, interdisciplinary response to all victims of sexual assault by providing comprehensive forensic evaluation, continued advocacy, and criminal justice services in an ethical and compassionate manner.
RELATED: Governor signs bill aimed at defining rape and consent in Indiana
A donation drive is running now through April 23 at several locations. The SANE program is set to begin later this spring or in early summer.
- Hancock County Public Library
- Greenfield Police Department
- Hancock County Sheriff's Department
- Fortville Police Department
- McCordsville Police Department
- Shirley Police Department
- Greenfield Banking Company
- Hancock Regional Hospital
- Hancock Wellness Center
- Healthy 365 Connection Center
- Rotary Club of Greenfield
- Greenfield Fire Stations 421 and 422
- Christ Fellowship Knightstown
-
Subzero temperatures create challenges for central Indiana flower deliveries
Central Indiana is in the middle of an extended stretch of days with below-freezing temperatures. Florists like Melissa Smith and her team have to make do.
Drunk driver agrees to plead guilty in new OWI case
A man accused of repeated drunk driving has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in one of his pending cases.
Trump announces IndyCar race in Washington D.C. for America's 250th birthday
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday that will bring an IndyCar race to Washington, D.C. to celebrate America's 250th birthday.
Several items sold at Indianapolis store, other locations recalled, FDA says
Cheerios, Tylenol, and thousands of other brand-name items sold at an Indianapolis international market have been recalled due to rodent and avian contamination.
