Mon Nov 29, 2010
Aftermath of rape: A portal to help victims
by Nancy McCleary
At age 69, Pat was raped and beaten in her home. It has been a struggle for her to get the assistance she needs to cope and recover from the incident.
Pat spent weeks recovering from injuries she received when she was beaten and raped.
Then, her Medicare coverage maxed out, forcing her out of a rehabilitation center.
Pat, who was 69 at the time, had little money, no one to turn to and nowhere to go.
Pat, like so many other victims of sexual and domestic crimes, simply disappeared, vanishing into a void that claims those who grow frustrated while trying to get help.
The Fayetteville Observer does not identify or picture victims of sexual assaults or rapes. But Pat wanted to share her story and agreed to use her first name and allow her picture to appear with this story.
Four years later, Pat is getting the assistance she needed, thanks to Fayetteville police Detective Kellie Berg.
And Berg is working to set up a Family Justice Center to see that others don't end up like Pat.
"It's a portal for victims," Berg said.
Victims of rape and domestic violence are often shuttled to different agencies to get counseling, financial services and to prepare for court hearings, Berg said.
Victims become overwhelmed at having to visit so many agencies and having to re-tell their story over and over, she said.
A justice center can bring together under one roof the counselors, prosecutors, law enforcement, social workers and those from other agencies that assist crime victims, Berg said.
"Nothing is worse than a victim trying to go it alone through the process," she said.
The idea is to keep victims from disappearing through the cracks as Pat did.
Pat's assault
Four years ago, Pat was preparing to move out of the house that had been her parents.
At age 69, she found that her meager income wouldn't be enough to pay taxes on the property and she had begun looking for a mobile home.
The new owner of the house hired workers to do renovations and repairs so Pat thought nothing was unusual when one of them knocked on her door that Saturday night. The worker said he had forgotten some tools, so Pat let him inside.
Nothing in her life would ever be the same.
Minutes later, Pat said, the man grabbed her wrists and shoved her down the hallway to her bedroom.
He beat her, raped her repeatedly, threw her on the floor causing a permanent injury to her back.
Pat said she knew he was going to kill her.
"At one point he tried to choke me and I said, 'Lord, I'm coming home,' " she said.
He sat on her chest until she could hardly breathe.
Pat said she thinks the attack lasted an hour.
"I had no concept of time."
But she did have training that enabled her to get through the ordeal.
In 1970, Pat found the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous, which led her to volunteer with Contact of Fayetteville, a phone-counseling service for those in need.
Through that affiliation, she said, she had received specialized training to assist rape victims who called in seeking help.
The techniques came to her during the attack.
"While he was beating and raping me, God was telling me don't fight him, listen to your training," Pat said.
When the attacker was done, he had Pat sit in a recliner and used packing tape to bind her feet together. He crossed her arms in front of her body and taped her wrists together.
"He looked at me ... got up and walked away," Pat said.
After about 30 minutes of silence, Pat - using her teeth - managed to grab a piece of the tape around her wrists.
She continued gnawing until she could free a hand.
Pat then reached to rip the tape off - and skin came with it.
Putting aside her pain, Pat dressed and carefully made her way to a neighbor's.
She was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, where she had surgery for her injuries.
Ten days later she was moved to a rehabilitation center. Slowly, she improved.
"I had to be flat on my back with oxygen," Pat said. "I went from that to getting off the oxygen, using a walker and getting therapy."
Then, her Medicare capped and she had to leave. With nowhere to go, she wound up in a motel. Fortunately, Pat said, she had started looking at mobile homes to rent or buy before the attack.
She spent the last of her savings paying off Medicare and her motel bill and buying a mobile home.
Pat, who is slightly stooped as a result of her back injury, never received assistance from anyone.
She has managed to live on her Social Security and pays her bills as she can.
Pat made a $3.73 payment on her taxes, Berg said, and hasn't seen a doctor since leaving the rehab center.
Pat never received any counseling because the Rape Crisis Center had lost funding, resulting in a partial disbanding, Berg said.
"At the time, there was nothing (such as the justice center) in place," Berg said. "She just fell through the cracks."
Getting assistance
Earlier this month, Berg learned that a DNA match to evidence from Pat's rape had turned up in a databank system.
The suspect, who has not been charged, is in prison, serving a sentence for unrelated offenses, Berg said.
The news sent her in search of Pat.
She found Pat, living modestly in a mobile home park in Fayetteville.
That was when Berg learned of Pat's plight.
Berg is now helping Pat get needed services, such as applying for Medicaid and food stamps.
But Berg realizes there are dozens of people like that, people who can benefit from a one-stop center for crime victims.
The plans were launched Nov. 10 during a luncheon that brought together the various organizations that will be involved.
That includes the Fayetteville, Hope Mills and Spring Lake police departments; the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, Rape Crisis Volunteers of Cumberland County, the Department of Social Services and the District Attorney's Office.
Also attending was Chief District Court Judge Beth Keever, and Fort Bragg officials are on board, Berg said.
She is now crafting an agreement that will define the role of each agency.
"It's a form that outlines everybody's role, what each will do and how they're involved," Berg said.
Once that's finished, coalition members will look for a building to house the center and look for funding through grants, Berg said.
Once the center is up and running, some of the groups will have workers and services available on-site.
Regular reviews of cases will allow workers to keep tabs on victims, to see that they are getting the assistance they need, Berg said.
How would Pat have benefited from the center?
"There wouldn't have been a loss of connection," Berg said. "Once she left rehab and went to the motel, everybody lost contact. There was nobody following up."
Pat's case would have have been referred from the hospital, Berg said.
Center workers would have reviewed the case. Someone would have assisted Pat in negotiating the endless red tape of Medicare or Medicaid. Another would have ensured that Pat was getting needed counseling and had a place to stay.
Had the incident involved a domestic crisis, still another worker would have been able to guide her through the process of getting a protective order, Berg said.
"This is the perfect opportunity to have collaboration," she said.
http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2010/11/28/1049920?sac=Home
