The New Life Center Sunshine Healing Services center will be housed in “The Firehouse” in downtown Phoenix (photo courtesy of New Life Center).

New Life Center (NLC), the state’s largest domestic violence shelter, opened its first sexual violence and rape crisis center, Tuesday, May 24. The New Life Center Sunshine Healing Services center will help victims of rape, sexual violence and human trafficking.

According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), every 68 seconds, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. Prevalence data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 43.6 percent of women, and 24.8 percent of men in the United States has experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetimes. Applying those statistics to Maricopa County population data, NLC estimates that 757,000 women and 420,380 men in Maricopa County have been victims of sexual assault in their lifetimes.

The New Life Center Sunshine Healing Services Center will operate out of 3826 N. 3rd Street, a.k.a. The Firehouse, in Midtown Phoenix. Originally constructed as a fire station, the building is a standalone with its own parking lot, helping survivors access the location discreetly.

NLC’s sexual assault mobile advocates, human trafficking advocates and prevention and training departments will all operate at this location. Additionally, the organization’s active partnership with La Frontera Empact will allow the agency to bring on a trauma healing therapist available for behavioral health needs anywhere from 20 to 40 hours per week. The building is also a short distance from the Phoenix Family Advocacy Center, NLC’s enforcement partner through the City of Phoenix and the City of Phoenix Police Department.

Amy Scanlon, NLC outreach director, will manage the center, which will operate with four full-time employees.

The NLC 27/7 mobile crisis number is 623-215-8072. For additional information, visit www.newlifectr.org.


This story was updated June 14, 2022 to reflect that the location of the New Life Center is in Midtown Phoenix, rather than downtown. |NCN

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