Stuart House

The Borstein Family Foundation has supported The Stuart House, a program of the Rape Foundation, since 2008. The Stuart House is an internationally recognized model program which serves the special needs of sexually abused children and their families. In most communities across the country, sexually abused children who seek help are usually taken to six different agencies and subjected to as many as a dozen repetitive interviews in cold, institutional settings, such as police departments and criminal court buildings. These experiences can be intimidating and frightening to a traumatized child. Moreover, few receive expert medical care, forensic examinations, or needed therapy services. 

Stuart House was created to remedy these problems. It brings together, in a “one-stop,” child-friendly facility, services of the Rape Treatment Center, law enforcement agencies, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Specially trained personnel from these agencies are co-located at Stuart House and work as a multidisciplinary team to investigate cases
and ensure that children are not re-victimized by the system. Children are seen immediately and have access to comprehensive treatment, including 24-hour emergency medical care, expert forensic/evidentiary examinations, advocacy, crisis intervention, and long-term therapy services that child victims need to recover from the traumatic effects of sexual abuse. A child interview specialist conducts forensic interviews and trained advocates provide Court School and court accompaniment
for children who testify in criminal proceedings. 

All of these services are free to the children and families that are served.

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Current Grant
$30,000

Grant Term
One Year

Cumulative Grants
$430,000