Homewood proclaims April 2025 Sexual Assault Awareness Month; Scribe Center leaders brief council on services

The Homewood City Council on April 14 accepted a proclamation from Mayor Alex Wyatt declaring April 2025 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and heard a presentation from representatives of the Scribe Center and the Crisis Center Inc. on local services for survivors.

The proclamation cited national awareness observances and local service statistics. City and Scribe Center speakers said Crisis Center Inc. provided medical care to 274 victims and survivors in the community last year, including 14 in Homewood, and emphasized that underreporting makes the true prevalence higher. Councilors and the mayor recognized the center’s forensic and advocacy services as a community resource.

Scribe Center staff described the center’s clinical and advocacy operations: trained sexual-assault nurse examiners, private exam rooms and counseling rooms, evidence-gathering technology (including cameras that can detect bruising beneath the skin), and a response team that offers emotional support and advocacy. Presenters said that patients seen in dedicated clinics have better long-term outcomes than those seen in general emergency rooms and that the center’s work on the sexual-assault kit initiative has helped identify serial offenders in Jefferson County.

Speakers also said federal funding for similar centers has declined in recent years and that some counties in the state no longer have such services. Countywide collaboration and local support were highlighted as priorities for sustaining services.

The council presented the proclamation to Scribe Center representatives and thanked the team members identified during the presentation for their work.