ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A non-profit in St. Johns County is expanding its reach to help more survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
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The Betty Griffin Center offers a critical initial service that is now being provided at a second hospital in the county.
For the last nine years, the center has had nurses assess victims of sexual assault and domestic violence through a rape care unit at what is now UF Health St. Johns Hospital.
In a new agreement, that same initial service is also being given at Ascension St. Vincent’s St. Johns County Hospital.
Kelly Franklin is the CEO of the Betty Griffin Center. The center is based in St. Augustine.
Franklin says the new expansion is necessary to make any survivor have a smoother process after a serious crisis situation, especially as more people continue moving into the county.
“We have the sexual assault nurse examiners who are trained and doing this on a regular basis,” Franklin said. “So the survivor does not have to have a long wait process in an emergency room. They can go directly to the services and have an advocate walk them through the whole process, stay with them, hold their hand during any process that they have aftercare.”
Franklin said when a survivor first shows up to a hospital to be examined by someone from the rape care unit, the nurses first make sure the survivor does not need emergency medical care.
Then they would follow up with doing the exam so the nurses can collect forensic evidence, which can be passed on to law enforcement.
However, Franklin says survivors do not have to report any information right at that moment. The Betty Griffin Center can take that evidence and make it accessible and a survivor can change their mind later if they choose.
Franklin said the Betty Griffith Center was established in 1990.
Additional resources the center offers include an emergency shelter stay, transitional housing, and crisis counseling and therapy.
Franklin says the Betty Griffin Center served 1,100 people in 2024 when it typically helps about 1,000 each year. According to Franklin, the rape care unit performed 30 sexual assault forensic exams last year.
“What we want survivors to know is that we believe them no matter what,” Franklin said. “We are here to help. Anything that they need, we try to provide. Anytime that we can be helpful and make the situation a smoother process for survivors, we feel that we are meeting our mission.”
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault or domestic violence, contact the Betty Griffin Center’s 24-hour helpline at 904-824-1555.
The number to the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.