Crisis Center North

Crisis Center North (ccn) is a non-profit counseling and educational resource Center serving victims of domestic violence (dv), their children, and teens involved in violent dating relationships in the northern and western communities of allegheny county to any individuals who are experiencing domestic violence. Services include: (1) a 24-hour hotline; (2) a text/chat line; (3) individual and group counseling for adults and children; (4) mobile counseling; (5) case management services; (6) economic empowerment and micro loan services; (7) education programs (to employers, churches, and community groups); (8) primary prevention programs (to local schools, hopsitals and law enforcement agencies); continued on sch o (9) legal advocacy (providing victim assistance in the judicial system; (10) medical advocacy (providing hospital accompanimentand 24-hour on-call services); (11) micro loan programming to help victims establish economic independence (the first program of its kind in pa's domestic violence movement); (12) the dv up housing program; (13) the ovc housing program for victims and their companion animals; (14) the paws for empowerment program, (pa's first comprehensive canine advocacy program providing animal assisted therapy, canine court accompaniment, veterinary stipends for battered pets; training to veterinarians and animal related professionals on the intersectionality of human and animal abuse; and specialized housing for victims and their companion animals.ccn has continously provided free services to the northern and western areas of allegheny county for 45 years, resulting in an organization that is deeply rooted in the community. In fy 23/24, ccn provided services to 2,122 unduplicated survivors. These survivors were offered a total of 25,204 services. In addition, ccn recorded 2,656 hotline calls through the agency's 24-hour Crisis hotline while legal services (e.g. Assistance with protection from abuse (pfa) orders; courtroom accompaniment; and follow-ups to 1,474 individuals. In addition, ccn's community based education programming reached 1,318 community members. It's prevention program reached12 different school districts or private schools spreading the message to 14,473 students. The organization's medical advocacy program offered training to 566 individulas in the healthcare field. Ccn's dv up program resulted in housing for 47 families in apartments across the county; and as a pilot program, the office of victims of crime grant program serving victims and their companion animals provided services to five familes with 99 clients receiving 409 total services. Ccn was awarded this grant as one of five pilot programs across the united states in 2021. Ccn's 24-hour hotline and text chat line provides round-the-clock access to Crisis counseling and is a direct connection to 24-hour on call advocacy service provided by ccn's advocacy team. Ccn provides all services free of charge to our clients. Additionally, the organization partners with a number of local social service agencies and community groups to ensure that all client needs are met beyond those provided by our agency. The organization places a high priority on the wise utilization of govenrmental, foundation, and private resources, thus avoiding any unnecessary duplication of services. Ccn is an organizaton that was recognized on both the state and national level for excellence. Ccn was one of the first domestic violence programs in Pennsylvania to prioritize research initiatives. In the past 25 years, ccn has collaborated on over 50 peer reviewed research articles with penn state university faculty. The work was recognized in april 2022 with the nation's first ever crime victims research award by the department of justice. Ccn has been a member program of the Pennsylvania coaliton against domestic violence (pcadv) since its incorporation. The colation is a statewide organization of 59 community-based domestic violence programs. Pcadv ensures member programs maintain the highest standards, while providing pathways to safety and justice for victims of domestic violence in an effort to the domestic violence pandemic in Pennsylvania.