Riverview Center tells Cresco council it provides free, confidential advocacy to sexual-assault survivors across 14 counties

Kelly Cornwell, an advocate with the Riverview Center, told the Cresco City Council on May 18 that the nonprofit provides free, confidential sexual-assault survivor advocacy across a 14-county service area in northeast Iowa and in two counties across the river in Illinois. She said the organization "goes to the survivors" so rural residents who cannot travel to a brick-and-mortar office can still get medical advocacy, help understanding legal options, peer support and referrals to licensed therapists when available.

Cornwell said Riverview assigns advocates through a dispatch line that operates overnight and into the morning, and that advocates commonly meet survivors at hospitals to provide support during forensic exams or when interacting with law enforcement. She described the group's legal advocacy as explanatory rather than legal advice: "we are not lawyers ... but we make sure that our survivors understand what their legal options are," she said.

The presentation highlighted community education programs that Riverview offers to local groups and schools, including a trafficking-focused session the organization calls "Trafficking Iowa 101" and workshops on healthy relationships for families and communities. Cornwell said the agency has four main offices and a network of advocates positioned to travel to rural areas; she said the only eligibility criterion is that an individual identify as a survivor of sexual assault.

Cornwell left pamphlets and business cards for council members and offered to present to community groups and partner with Howard County agencies. Council members thanked her for the presentation; no public questions or objections were recorded during the meeting.

The Riverview Center provides a statewide hotline described in Cornwell's remarks; residents seeking services were directed to the phone number on the brochure she left with the council.