The Victim Center provides free-of-charge services to victims of violent and/or sexual crimes through 24-hour crisis response, individual and group counseling, personal advocacy, and court support. The Victim Center also provides school and community-based prevention education and training.

We serve any person who has experienced family violence, sexual violence, stalking, child sexual abuse, human trafficking, armed robbery, kidnapping, or the impact of homicide. We also serve survivors of DWI crashes, childhood trauma, and all other violent or sexual crimes.

Vision

Our vision is a community in which individuals live free of violence and corresponding trauma.

Mission

We foster safety and health in our communities by walking with victims along their journey from trauma and tragedy to hope and healing.

History

The Victim Center was founded in 1976 as the Rape Crisis Center, and at the time, it only provided crisis intervention services to adult victims of sexual assault.

In 1980, The Victim Center developed a school-based prevention education program that was adopted by the Springfield Public Schools and continues today.

In 1984, services expanded beyond the initial scope to include individual counseling for victims of sexual assault and their families. In 1988, the agency’s name changed to the Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Center, which expanded services to include sexually abused children and their non-offending parents.

The agency’s services continued to expand, and by 1991, it became the Missouri Victim Center, which provided services to all men, women, and child victims of violent or sexual crimes.

In 1997, the agency’s name changed to The Victim Center to avoid confusion with state agencies. Today it continues to provide comprehensive services to all victims within southwest Missouri.