About SAHC
History
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The Upper Ohio Valley Sexual Assault Help Center (SAHC) is a private, non-profit rape crisis center providing services to survivors of sexual violence. The Sexual Assault Help Center has been providing services since 1978 and covers an official WV five-county area in Ohio County, Marshall County, Brooke County, Wetzel County, and Hancock County.
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The Sexual Assault Help Center has been providing services to survivors of sexual assault/violence for over 40 years. What began as a one-person agency has evolved into a paid professional staff and a group of volunteers who are dedicated, trained, and qualified. These individuals provide a 24 hour a day, 365-days a year crisis, toll-free, victim hotline.
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All policies and procedures for the Center are set and reviewed periodically by a Board of Directors. The Board consists of advocates, community members, and other professionals who care about the effects of sexual violence.
The Mission Statement of the SAHC Reads
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The Upper Ohio Valley Sexual Assault Help Center's (SAHC) mission is to ignite social change to end sexual violence, stalking, and human trafficking. SAHC seeks to create pathways to healing for those with lived experiences and to cultivate an inclusive community through prevention education and equitable public policies.
Victim-Survivor Services
​The Sexual Assault Help Center is unique in that it provides services for primary and secondary survivors of sexual violence. These specific information services are not duplicated in out service area. They are greatly needed, recognized, and utilized, as there is no other rape crisis center in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. For the future and health of all we will continue to respond to these growing needs related to sexual violence in a supportive and proactive manner in the Ohio Valley community.