ORANGE COUNTY, N.C. — The Orange County Rape Crisis Center has been around for almost 50 years, but now it's facing some major funding cuts. The center’s director says a federal program is running out of money, and about one-quarter of its funding will soon disappear.

What You Need To Know

  • The Victims of Crime Act is running out of funding

  • The Orange County Rape Crisis Center faces major cuts in staff and programs

  • One survivor says the resources at the center helped her immensely

  • The center's executive director is hopeful they will navigate the cuts

The center offers a 24-hour hotline, legal advice, therapy and much more. Christina Jasper, a survivor who was brave enough to share her story, says all of those tools were incredibly important for her healing process.

"My best friend, Amanda and I, it’s something that we always do together when I’m at her house or we go on vacation together. We typically bring a puzzle to the Airbnb to just do it on the table," said Jasper, a survivor and victim's advocate. "She was with me the weekend I turned in my rapist."

Jasper confronted her trauma but still felt lost.

“I lived as a victim for 20 years. For two decades I was silent," she said. “I can remember thinking to myself while we were doing the puzzle that I feel like I had been shattered into a million pieces, just like this, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to put the pieces back together."

Then she found the Orange County Rape Crisis Center. “Those group therapy sessions or individual therapy sessions are so important because the second you open up and speak, it has less power over you,” Jasper said.

She credits them with helping her understand what her options were and for helping her heal.

“Throughout my journey I have realized it’s OK to shatter, and it’s actually the best thing to do, and when you put yourself back together you put together the pieces you want to pick up and you get to leave the bad stuff on the floor,” Jasper said.

Jasper is not defined by what has happened to her but rather by her growth.

“I feel incredibly powerful, and I feel whole, which after being broken for so long, feeling whole feels pretty darn amazing,” she said.

Many of the resources that helped Jasper are on the chopping block.

Starting in September, Orange County Rape Crisis Center will cut about one third of its staff. Additionally, their current case load capacity for therapy is about 40 clients at a time but that will be cut in half. Meanwhile, the number of support groups they offer will be cut by about one-quarter.

"A lot of our community has come to rely on these programs and services as being a part of the community. We want folks to remember that this isn’t something we can always take for granted and it does rely on community support, which includes funding but also includes volunteer services," said Rachel Valentine, the executive director of the Orange County Rape Crisis Center.

Valentine says the center is committed to maintaining 24-hour crisis intervention, and they’re hopeful they will find a way to navigate these funding concerns.

The 24-hour helpline can be reached at 919-967-7273 or by text at 919-504-5211.