Florida

COUNSELING AND OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES

Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center
218 SE 24th St.
Gainesville, FL 32641
24-hour Hotline: (352) 264-6760
24-hour Toll Free Hotline: (866) 252-5439
Website: www.alachuacounty.us/government/depts/css/vicserv/

The Alachua County Victim Services & Rape Crisis Center provides services to survivors of interpersonal violence, sexual violence, and personal injury crimes. Services include hopital advocacy, face-to-face and telephone counseling, support groups, advocacy and support through criminal justice proceedings, transportation assistance, personal advocacy, confidential HIV testing, and information and referrals. Program services are available to all survivors of crime and their families. All services are free, confidential and available to any Alachua County resident.

Florida Council Against Sexual Violence (FCASV)
1311 N. Paul Russell Road, Suite A-204
Tallahassee, FL 32301
(850) 297-2000
Toll-free: (888) 956-7273
Website: www.fcasv.org
E-mail: information@fcasv.org

The Florida Council Against Sexual Violence is a statewide nonprofit organization committed to victims and survivors of sexual violence and the rape crisis programs who serve them. With 31 rape crisis centers across the state, FCASV is Florida’s central resource for victims, allied professionals, public officials, and concerned citizens on sexual violence issues. FCASV provides free information and referrals to individuals and agencies that provide direct services to sexual violence survivors throughout the state.

Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline
Counseling & Referrals: 2-1-1 or (850) 617-6333
English Language Hotline: (800) 352-2437
Spanish Language Hotline: (800) 545-7432
Creole Language Hotline: (800) 243-7101
TDD/TTY Hotline: (888) 503-7118
Website: www.211bigbend.org/hotlines/hiv
Hotline Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-9pm and Saturday, 10:30am-6:30pm EST
Email: hivhotline@211bigbend.org

The Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline is the statewide resource for HIV/AIDS-related information, community referrals, and supportive telephone counseling. The Hotline offers free statewide numbers for crisis counseling, information, and referral information. The hotline provides an extensive database for statewide referrals and HIV/STD/TB/AIDS information. The hotlines are available only within the state of Florida and are closed on Sundays and state holidays. Recorded information is available after hours.

Palm Beach County Victim Services
3228 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33406
Office: (561) 712-6428
24 Hour Hotline: (561) 833-7273
Website: www.pbcgov.com/pubsafety/victim.htm

The Palm Beach County Victim Services office provides comprehensive services for adult and child survivors of sexual assault as well as other serious crimes. In addition to operating a 24-hour Rape Hotline, Palm Beach County Victim Services offers crisis intervention, supportive counseling, and victim advocacy; conducts educational programs; and provides 24-hour emergency crisis intervention for survivors of violent crimes. All services are free and confidential.

Sexual Assault Treatment Center
400 NE 4 Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Crisis/Intake Unit: (954) 765-5031
24-hour Hotline: (954) 761-7273
Website: www.broward.org/sexualassault

The Sexual Assault Treatment Center (SATC) is a child advocacy and rape crisis center providing an array of services to adult and child survivors of sexual assault and child abuse in Broward County. Services include crisis intervention and sexual assault/abuse counseling. The Crisis Intake Unit (CIU) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and provides hotline and immediate crisis counseling to victims of sexual assault and adult survivors of childhood abuse. The counseling unit of SATC provides mental health services to children, adults, and their families who have been victimized by the crime of sexual assault/child abuse. These services are private, confidential, and provided at no cost to the client. Services are available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Creole.

Sunshine Social Services, Inc./SunServe
1480 SW Ninth Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315
Office: (954) 764-5150
Intake, Information, and Referral Line: (954) 548-4602
Website: www.sunserve.org
Email: info@sunserve.org

SunServe is dedicated to providing a full range of high quality, affordable outpatient mental health treatment, education, and outreach services targeted especially to meet the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in South Florida. Services include: individual professional counseling and therapy, couples counseling, therapy groups, support groups, family and youth services, and referral services, as well as community education, outreach, and the world's first LGBT senior day care center. Fees for services are determined on a sliding scale that accommodates all income levels, including persons with no income at all. SunServe's team of more than 40 professional therapists serves all of South Florida, from the Keys to Palm Beach County.

Trauma Resolution Integration Program (TRIP)
Nova Southeastern University
Community Mental Health Center
Maltz Psychology Building
3301 College Ave.
Davie, FL 33314
(954) 262-5851
Website: www.nova.edu/trip/
E-mail: trip@nsu.nova.edu

Housed within Nova Southeastern University Community Mental Health Center, TRIP provides psychological services to individuals age 18 and over who are experiencing difficulties related to a history of abuse or a single-event trauma occurring in adulthood (e.g. rape, physical assault). TRIP offers individual psychotherapy, therapy groups, and coping skills training groups. TRIP serves individuals living in Broward County, Florida. Fees are assessed on the basis of the client’s ability to pay and set on a sliding fee scale.

Victim Service Center
1925 East Michigan Street
Orlando, Florida 32806
Office: (407) 228-6050
24-hour Hotline: (407) 497-6701
Website: www.victimservicecenter.com
Email: vsc@ocfl.net

Victim Service Center is a non-profit organization providing comprehensive, compassionate, victim-focused services to meet the needs of survivors of crime who reside in or were victimized in Orange County, Florida. The Sexual Assault Treatment Center (SATC) offers a full range of free services to victims of sexual assault in Orange County including a 24 hour hotline, information about reactions to sexual assault, information about victims’ rights, emotional support and advocacy, crisis intervention services and crisis counseling, information and referrals to other community resources, referrals for mental health services or therapy, and support groups for survivors of sexual assault. Immediately following an assault, survivors can call the hotline for assistance, but those seeking information and referrals should contact the Victim Service Center office.

The Women's Center of Jacksonville
5644 Colcord
Jacksonville, FL 32211
(904) 722-3000
Website: www.womenscenterofjax.org
Email: mail@womenscenterofjax.org

The Women’s Center of Jacksonville provides a wide range of comprehensive services to survivors of sexual abuse in Jacksonville including: 24/7 advocacy, crisis intervention, hospital and court accompaniment, counseling, and information and referrals. On call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, advocates provide crisis intervention services, assist victims in understanding their rights and options, and offer support throughout the medical and criminal justice process to ensure the victim's recovery. Individual and group psychotherapy as well as couples and family counseling services are offered through the Women's Center. Advocacy and counseling services are free and confidential and available to women, men, and youth.

LEGAL SERVICES

Florida Institutional Legal Services (FILS)
1010-B NW 8th Ave.
Gainesville, FL 32601
(352) 375-2494
E-mail: fils@bellsouth.net

FILS provides legal assistance to prisoners incarcerated in any state institution in the Florida. While FILS primarily handles class actions, individual cases are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Cases involving conditions of confinement, medical care, civil rights, and brutality will receive priority.

Florida Justice Institute (FJI)
Attention: Intake
2870 First Union Financial Center
200 S. Biscayne Blvd.
Miami, FL 33131-2310
(305) 358-2081
E-mail: rcberg@bellsouth.net

FJI handles civil rights actions affecting conditions in Florida's prisons and jails. Legal services provided to inmates also may include referrals arrangements with members of the State Bar Association for damages suits and civil rights cases. Prisoners should contact this group by sending a letter.

Lambda Legal: Southern Regional Office
1447 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 1004
Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone: (404) 897-1880
Fax: (404) 897-1884
Website:www.lambdalegal.org
E-mail: legalhelpdesk@lambdalegal.org

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people, and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. Southern Regional Office provides services for those who are located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia.

Help Desk Hours (Eastern Standard Time)
Mondays -- 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Wednesdays -- 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Thursdays -- 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

If Help Desk staff are busy helping other callers, your call will be routed to the Legal Help Desk voicemail. Please leave the following information: name, state, contact info, best time to reach you, and a brief message outlining your legal inquiry. A Help Desk staff person will return your call.

It is usually most efficient for Help Desk callers to contact Lambda by phone. If you are in a place where you are not able to make long distance calls, we can make an appointment to call you. If you are absolutely unable to call us, you may e-mail us at legalhelpdesk@lambdalegal.org or write to the addresses above.

Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP)
200 S. Biscayne Blvd., Suite 2870
Miami, FL 33131-2310
(305) 373-4334

VLP obtains pro-bono (free) legal representation for qualified pro-se plaintiffs (someone who is representing him or herself in court, without a lawyer) who have filed cases in the Southern District Court of Florida. Cases are referred by the court and then a determination is made as to whether the plaintiff is qualified for free services. In addition, VLP accepts mail from prisoners and phone calls from families of prisoners.

GOVERNMENT RESOURCES

Bureau of Inmate Grievance Appeals, Florida Department of Corrections
Office of Inmate Grievances
2601 Blair Stone Rd.
Tallahassee, FL 32399
(850) 488-0094

The Bureau of Inmate Grievance Appeals is responsible for providing inmates with a channel for the administrative settlement of legitimate complaints. All grievances are reviewed, evaluated, appropriately investigated, and responded to. The grievance process assists the department by providing an avenue for internal resolution of problems, improving the lines of communication and identifying good practices to share with others. Additionally, the grievance procedure provides a written record in the event of subsequent judicial or administrative review. Utilization of this process produces a safer environment for staff and inmates. The bureau continually strives to provide inmates an impartial, consistent, and expeditious mechanism for resolving grievances.

Office of the Inspector General, Florida Department of Corrections
2601 Blair Stone Rd.
Tallahassee, FL 32399
(850) 488-9265
“Prison Tips” Hotline: (866) 599-1778
Website: www.dc.state.fl.us/orginfo/ig.html

The Office of the Inspector General is responsible for criminal and internal affairs investigations, contract systems analysis, internal audits and safety and risk management programs. These functions are carried out within the Bureau of State Investigations and the Bureau of Internal Audit. The Bureau of State Investigations directs a network of state-certified inspectors who conduct criminal, administrative and internal affairs investigations at prisons, work release centers and other Department facilities throughout the state. The Bureau of State Investigations oversees several related activities, including the "Prison Tips" program, which collects criminal intelligence on criminal activity, both inside and outside the Department, from inmates, probationers, and other persons who may have knowledge of this type of activity. The program allows inmates to provide anonymous tips via telephones located at prison facilities, and provides a toll-free number that can be called from outside the facilities. The Use of Force Unit reviews all incidents of physical force at state correctional facilities to ensure compliance with established rules, procedures and statutes.