We recognize that leaving or healing from an abusive situation is not a one-time event, but an ongoing process. We meet each survivor within the context of their lives, offer unconditional support, provide guidance when appropriate, and work to connect them with the diverse resources they need to move forward. We’ve been doing this critical work since 1992.

At the beginning, our program was known as Blue Valley Crisis Intervention. It was one of many services under the umbrella of another program that served a variety of needs and populations. Our current Executive Director began working as an Advocate in 1997 and came to realize that the community would be better served by an independent organization that focused exclusively on the needs of survivors. In 2006, our program transitioned away from Blue Valley Community Action Partnership and incorporated independently as Hope Crisis Center.

So much has changed since our program’s early days. Hope Crisis Center has grown from three full-time employees in 1997 to ten full-time employees today. We have also expanded our presence throughout our seven-county service area and operate offices in Fairbury, Beatrice, York, Seward, and Crete, Nebraska. In 2019, we finalized renovations and moved administrative operations into our very first property, which is supported by the Building Hope Capital Campaign for Safe Shelter.

Our growth as an organization speaks to a recent and rapid cultural shift that is taking place on a global scale. For most of human history, domestic abuse and sexual assault were seen as an inevitable and even acceptable part of life. Marital rape, for example, was not punishable by law in all 50 states until 1993! Prior to the 1970s, when the first shelters and crisis centers began springing up in America, survivors of abuse had nowhere to turn and were forced to live their lives in fear and silence. Now, thanks to the tremendous work of individuals and organizations all over the world, there is hope.

We believe it’s only getting better from here.

About Hope Crisis Center