The services of Mayo Rape Crisis Centre have been available to the people of Mayo dealing with the after-effects of sexual violence, for the past 26 years.
Even during the recent Covid-19 lockdown, the centre has continued to provide their services to those most in need. The centre director, Loretta McDonagh, explained that during these lockdowns, the centre continues to offer their services remotely, with their Helpline continuing to operate daily.
She stated: "The most important thing we would like people to know is that throughout these lockdowns we never closed, the service never stopped operating - we just operate differently.
"We very smoothly transitioned to remote working, with all our clients being offered the services we provide over either the phone or video calls. Clients have continued to take that up really well.
"The one concern we continue to have is that the helpline is quieter, and as a service with 26 years in the working in the county, and knowing the prevalence of sexual violence in our communities, we find this concerning.
"I do have an understanding that people are in a survival mode at this time, trying to deal with the reality of life amidst continuing restrictions; so people may not have the psychological safety to be able to process trauma when they do not have a safe place like the centre to come into.
"We work with anybody who has been affected by sexual violence at any stage in their life, be it a man or a woman; we also do a lot of work with people who support victims, be it the father, mother, wife, husband, partner, friend - anyone who is helping people; there has been a lot of activity on the helpline over the past few months.
"We are looking forward to when we can go back to being face-to-face with our clients and hope that this will be sooner rather than later. We understand that some clients will be hesitant to come back in, due to being concerned about Covid, so we would like to reassure people that we take every precaution to adhere to all the guidelines, in terms of keeping staff and clients safe when in the centre.
"I keep saying the best way to work with someone dealing with the trauma of sexual violence, is by having the body in the room. We have always said we are client-led and that learning continues going forward with a blended model of service delivery.
"There are people who won't be comfortable for a long time going back out and into a place with people moving in and out daily, while others will be.
"We are still a free professional service and that will never change. Our core funding comes from Tusla and we have a team of fantastic volunteers who are accredited psychotherapists in their own right, and who did our Specialised Training with us and continue that voluntary commitment to the service.
"We are here to listen and work with people as best we can - the helpline is currently open four days a week in the morning on 1800 234 900.
"Confidentiality is core, it makes it safe for people; you will only need to know where we are when you need us - but we want people to know they are not alone, there is help there."
