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County proclaims Sexual Assault Awareness Month; local advocate outlines services and gaps in SANE coverage
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Summary
Des Moines County adopted a proclamation for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Brianne Hellmers of DVIP/RBAP described services (three shelters, 24/7 hotline), said the agency served 28 sexual-assault clients last fiscal year and provided 543 service contacts, and urged the board to consider funding and referrals; she also noted the county lacks local SANE nurses so victims currently travel to Iowa City for exams.
The Des Moines County Board of Supervisors adopted a proclamation recognizing April 2026 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and invited community groups to join awareness events. After the proclamation, Brianne Hellmers, stewardship coordinator for DVIP/RBAP, told the board the local domestic-violence intervention and victim-advocacy organization provides peer support, counseling, youth services and three emergency shelters (one in Burlington) and is the only shelter in Iowa that provides emergency pet sheltering.
"We served 28 sexual-assault clients in Des Moines County last fiscal year and provided 543 of our services," Hellmers said, summarizing recent demand. She said roughly half of the agency's funding comes from federal sources and the remainder from grants, community partners, individual donations and municipalities, and she asked the board to keep the organization in mind when grant or budget requests arrive.
Hellmers also described a local gap in forensic-exam coverage: "We do not currently have any nurses in Des Moines County, so we have to transport victims from Des Moines County all the way up to Iowa City to the nurses up there to be able to undergo these" forensic exams, she said, noting that those appointments average about 10 hours and are costly and time-consuming for victims.
The board moved and approved the proclamation. Hellmers listed upcoming local events: the Clothesline Project at the Burlington Public Library on April 7 (1:00-4:00 p.m.) and a Shop for Survivors donation drive at both Hy-Vee stores on April 8 (3:30-6:30 p.m.).
Why it matters: The proclamation formally recognizes local needs and elevates an agency request for support. Hellmers's description of service levels and the lack of trained SANE nurses in-county highlights a service gap that can affect survivors pursuing medical care or criminal investigations.
What the board can do next: Board members and staff may route future grant and budget applications for DVIP/RBAP to relevant funding processes and consider whether local partnerships or health-system advocacy could increase in-county SANE capacity. The agency provided contact information and offered handouts for supervisors.
(Quotes are from Brianne Hellmers during the public presentation and were recorded in the meeting transcript.)