St. Croix Valley Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit serving the counties of Barron, Pierce, Polk, Rusk and St. Croix in Western Wisconsin, and Goodhue County, MN.
St. Croix Valley SART provides 100% free, sexual assault nursing exams (forensic exams) to survivors of sexual violence and/or strangulation. Our Registered Nurses (RN’s) are specially trained to treat individuals who have experienced sexual assault, both physically and emotionally. During the exams survivors are offered many options. The goals of the exams are to ensure the health and safety of the survivor, offer evidence collection, and medication to prevent STD/STI’s and pregnancy, as well as HIV prophylaxis. These services can be accessed 24/7 – 365 at no cost to the survivor. Survivors can choose from multiple hospital or community-based site locations to receive care.
St. Croix Valley SART also reopened our pediatric sexual assault nursing exam program this past fall of 2024. Since September of 2024, we have provided 11 children survivors of sexual violence with a comprehensive pediatric exam. This program continues to grow and there is a high demand for this care.
Our Mission is to improve community health and safety by providing comprehensive services and resources that respond to and prevent interpersonal violence. St. Croix Valley SART not only responds to survivors and supports them after an assault has occurred but strives to work on prevention efforts in the communities we serve.
Our community outreach and prevention education initiatives include educating community groups, law enforcement, hospitals, and other systems that support survivors of violence on the problems and concept of sexual violence, as well as how to respond to survivors in a trauma-informed and supportive way.
We present to middle/high school and college students on important subjects like healthy relationships, consent, coercion, and all forms of abuse. We believe this proactive and preventative approach allows students to process and identify the concept and actions of interpersonal violence in a safe learning environment, by giving students the words and knowledge to discuss something they might experience in their lifetime and how to access help if/when they do. We know prevention education is an effective tool in reducing the volume of sexual violence in our local communities. 2022-2023 Academic year St. Croix Valley SART reached: 3,397 students, presented 89 times, and partnered with 17 schools in St. Croix, Pierce, and Polk counties.
We are asking for our communities’ monetary support to keep our programing open and free to survivors of violence.
Please consider donating to our GoFundMe page by using the following link: