Counseling/ Waitlist information
There are several steps involved in accessing counseling at Avalon Centre. When a woman calls us, the first person she will speak to is an intake worker. The intake worker will ask her some basic questions, including her address, how she can be reached, and the issue she wants to address while receiving counseling with us. The intake process usually takes about 15 minutes.

After the intake, an initial consultation is set up. When a women comes in for an initial consultation, a counselor will meet with her to fully explain our programs and services, and our approach to counseling, and to help her determine whether counseling at Avalon is a good fit for her at that time. Given that Avalon is a good fit, women are then placed on the wait list.

The wait list varies in length, depending on the time of year and number of current clients at Avalon. The wait list has at times been as long as four months, or as short as a few weeks. The wait list will be discussed with you during your intake. Sometimes we are able to offer a small number of coping sessions to women while they are on the wait list: this service is not always available but can be helpful for women who are waiting to begin counseling.

Women who have experienced a recent sexual assault (one that has occurred within the past few weeks) will be seen by a counselor as soon as possible. We can usually see women in this situation within a day or two.

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program (SANE)
The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program is in place to provide care for males and females, aged 13 and over, who have experienced an immediate sexual assault (one that has occurred within the past 72 hours), at 3 hospitals in the Halifax Regional Municipality (IWK, Dartmouth General, QE11). There are several ways to access the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program. SANE nurses carry pagers and are on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All of the following agencies can page the SANE nurses for you:

SANE office: 422-6503
(Monday through Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm, and closed 12:30-1:30pm for lunch)

Avalon office: 422-4240 (same hours as SANE)

IWK emergency: 428-8050 (or in person)
Dartmouth General emergency: 465-8333 (or in person)
QE11emergency: 473-3383 (or in person)

Avalon SANE Response Line: 425-0122

Halifax Regional Police: 490-5016

Avalon SANE Response Line
The Avalon SANE Response Line operates 24/7 by calling 425-0122. Medical/police accompaniment can be accessed during business hours by calling the Avalon office at 422-4240.

Referrals
Individuals wishing to access Avalon programs and services do not need a referral to do so, and can simply call our office.

When professionals are considering referring clients to us, we request that before doing so they consult what we don’t do on this website, to avoid inappropriate referrals. Also, if you are planning to refer a client to Avalon, please familiarize yourself with our intake process and wait list, so you can properly inform clients of what to expect when they contact Avalon. If you are referring a client for counseling you do not need to call us: your client can call us herself and we will deal with her directly.

Client Group
Avalon Sexual Assault Centre provides individual counseling and group programs to women aged 16 and over, who have survived sexual violence. Our Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program provides forensic evidence collection and/or medical care to males and females who have experienced an immediate sexual assault, aged 13 and over. We provide workshops and information sessions to partners of survivors of sexual violence, and to non-offending parents.

Avalon centre does not provide counseling services for men, children, or women under the age of 16. We do not provide family or couples counseling.

The client group for whom Avalon centre provides services reflects our mandate, resources and expertise.

We feel that our community is greatly lacking in services and resources for people who have experienced sexual violence. For example, there are no frontline services for men who have been sexually violated. We endorse the establishment of fully funded programs to provide these desperately needed services. In the past Avalon has lobbied government on this issue; we encourage all concerned community members to do the same. We do referral work and provide some phone support with individuals who do not fall within our client group.

Accessing Avalon
Avalon centre is a scent-free environment; we request that friends and clients refrain from using scented products (perfumes, shampoos, deodorants, essential oils, etc.) on days that you visit our office. Avalon centre is a wheelchair accessible space.