Executive Summary

Avalon Healing Center was founded in 2004 by Kimberly Hurst, PA-C, a Physician’s Assistant and sexual assault survivor who recognized in the early 2000s that people presenting at Emergency Rooms and reporting sexual violence are not often provided with trauma-informed treatment. Generally, healthcare professionals do not receive any training on providing sexual assault forensic exams (SAFEs) and often re-traumatize survivors during exams. Now, Avalon is the largest provider of SAFEs in Wayne County, Michigan; since 2006, it has served nearly 23,000 survivors. Along with running a state-of-the-art clinic at its Detroit headquarters, Avalon provides SAFEs and related care and support at six other sites, all located within hospitals/clinics across the region. Avalon’s services extend beyond SAFEs, post-assault examinations and medical care - we provide clients with nontraditional healing services (e.g., art therapy, yoga, etc.), access to basic needs, post-assault medical care, behavioral healthcare (including psychiatric consults), victim advocacy services within criminal justice systems, and programming for survivors of human trafficking. Avalon also provides training to healthcare professionals, law enforcement, community groups, schools, and athletic organizations on risk, awareness, identification, and treatment of people who have survived sexual assault and/or human trafficking. Avalon convenes a Survivors Advisory Council (SAC) that contributes to the organization’s governance and represents Avalon’s patients - SAC members are women, Black, LGBTQIA+, men, survivors of human trafficking, Latin@, religious minorities, and white. All Avalon survivors determine their own paths to healing with the aid of staff - no journey is the same, but all are survivor-led.

Organizations may provide budget and employee data based on this proposal or the organization as a whole. For more information on this proposal or organization, please email us.