The Healing Hearts Rape Crisis Center (HHRCC) is Guam’s only Rape Crisis Center. Guided by Public Law 21-44, the Healing Hearts Rape Crisis Center (HHRCC), was established in 1993 under the Guam Memorial Hospital.  The intent of the program was to provide survivors of sexual assault with “discrete, immediate, and full medical attention”.  A year later, Public Law 22-23 removed the program from the hospital’s jurisdiction and placed the program under the Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse, now the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center, where it remains today.

  

HHCC incorporates a holistic approach for individuals who may have experienced a sexual assault.  Regardless of when the assault occurred or the age, ethnicity, gender or disability of the victim, Healing Hearts offers a supportive, healing atmosphere with caring people to assist them in regaining feelings of safety, control, trust, autonomy and self-esteem.  
 

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The four prongs of the program are:

 

Administrative
 

The administrative arm involves a Program Manager who provides the following services:  overseeing and monitoring the program and staff; developing and updating program policies and procedures; leadership of grant writing-administering funds and all record keeping functions; collecting statistics and publishing data; conducting meetings, and writing reports.  Additionally, the HHCC Program Manager is an active member in the Guam Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence (GCASAFV) and provides leadership for Guam’s Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Steering Committee.

 

Medical
 

At HHCC, registered nurses and medical doctors have been specially trained to perform examinations on children as well as adults who may have experienced a sexual assault.  The role of the examiner is to remain neutral and objective, but to care for the patient with sensitivity.  These examiners fully understand the important role they play in not only the criminal justice aspect of the sexual assault case, but in the healing and emotional well-being of a person.  HHCC is equipped to perform the examination in a private, calming environment, away from the crisis setting of the hospital emergency room.  The exam may include treatment for Sexually Transmitted Infections, emergency contraception and collection of forensic evidence such as the rape kit provided by the Guam Police Department.

 

Social Work 
 

HHCC offers crisis intervention, intake assessment, and short-term case management to coordinate services, and referrals for counseling, legal assistance and other services that may be needed.  It has been shown to be best practice that a victim undergoes the fewest number of interviews as possible to limit the trauma of reliving the assault.  HHCC works in partnership with different agencies such as the Guam Police Department, Attorney General’s Office, Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services and various military branches to provide a neutral location to interview the patient on a one-time basis to avoid repetitive questions with the different agencies.  HHCC has staff specially trained in child forensic interviewing to conduct these interviews while the team observes through a one-way mirror to collect information necessary for their purposes.  Child Forensic Interviews/Multi-Disciplinary Team Interviews are conducted for victims between 3 and 15 years of age.  

 

Community Outreach and Public Awareness
 

Education and raising public awareness are the best ways to help women, children and men who have survived sexual assault as well as to prevent sexual assault.  Healing Hearts is involved with outreach programs for elementary, middle and high schools and the community at large to talk about appropriate touching, when and how to say “NO,” and personal safety.  To schedule a presentation, call 647-5351 during business hours.

 

In addition, the HHCC participates in the leadership of Guam’s Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), which is a group of multi-disciplinary team members established to improve services to victims of sexual assault.  The benefit of the SART is a coordinated, efficient, and supportive response to victims who have been sexually assault.  The SART Steering Committee meets monthly to discuss ways to improve a comprehensive, effective continuum of care for survivors.

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Healing Hearts Crisis Center

1. Crisis Intervention, advocacy, support referral services and,
2. The Clinical services of a medical-legal examination in a case where a survivor wishes to report an assault to law enforcement. A survivor is not required to report the incident to law enforcement authorities in order to receive advocacy, support and referral services.