New Directions Center, Inc. a United Way agency, is a non-profit community organization which provides crisis intervention, emergency housing, food, clothing and transportation to women, children and men impacted by emotional, physical and sexual violence in the Staunton, Waynesboro, Augusta County and Highland County areas.
New Directions Center, Inc. was created on July 1, 1996 by the merging of The Blue Ridge Sexual Assault Center and Alternatives for Abused Adults. It is our belief that persons have a right to live free and determine their own response to emotional, physical and sexual violence.
NO ONE DESERVES TO BE ABUSED
Emotional, physical and sexual violence are expressions of a disorder of power, both between the victim and offender, and within our social structure as a whole. Therefore, services are community-focused as well as individual-focused. The Center's philosophy is guided by the perspective that these issures are a societal problem, and not only an individual problem, and that all individuals have the right to be free of violence.
Assault victims, like other citizens, share community values and beliefs and interpret their experience in light of community values and traditions. Therefore, it is the belief of this agency that if the community believes that violence does in fact occur within it's realm, and positive attitudes and a safe place for healing are offered, then more assaults will be reported.
What is Violence?
Physical Violence
Any act or behavior that inflicts or is intended to inflict bodily harm.
Emotional Violence
Any systematic attempt to destroy a person's sense of self-worth.
Sexual Violence
Any sexual activity forced on a person without his or her consent, whether by a stranger, date or spouse.
Violence does not go away on its own. In fact, over time domestic violence usually escalates, becoming more frequent and severe.
