VIP

We are here.

24 hours a day. 7 days a week.
Abuse doesn’t pick a day or time. It doesn’t pick a gender or sexual orientation. It doesn’t pick a specific area. That’s why we are here for you, whenever, wherever, and however you need us. We are here to:

Educate. Empower. Envision.
We strive to EDUCATE the community about violence. We EMPOWER victims of violence to make the best choices for their individual situations. We invite the community to ENVISION a world free of violence.

In 1982, a group of concerned citizens starting talking about the need for domestic violence and sexual assault services in rural Wayne County. In 1984, town meetings were held to discuss this need. To get emergency services started, a sister program from Lackawanna County provided immediate crisis services to Wayne County residents in 1985. In 1988, Victims’ Intervention Program (VIP) was established.

VIP’s mission statement is Educate~Empower~Envision. We educate the community on the issues of domestic and sexual violence-we empower victims and survivors to make the best choices for their individual situations-and we invite the community to envision a world free from violence.

VIP started as a crisis center serving victims of sexual and domestic violence only. Very quickly we realized that crisis services were not enough. We added individual and group counseling services as well as prevention education. As time went on, we knew that helping with the crisis was only the beginning. We needed to do more. The question on the table for VIP’s team was “What happens after the crisis?” As a result of this question, many post-crisis programs and services were born.

As the years continued to progress, we noticed another gap in services in our community. Who was providing services to victims of other serious crimes? No one. In 2006, VIP decided to pursue funding that would allow our counselors and advocates to work with these individuals and families. The crimes included in this group include, but are not limited to, the following: surviving members of a homicide victim, sex and/or labor trafficking, DUI crashes and DUI homicides, bullying, child abuse, elder abuse and stalking and harassment and identity theft.

In addition to providing services in Wayne County, VIP was chosen to be the victim service provider in Pike County beginning July 1, 2018. This expansion allowed VIP to replicate its long standing services for victims in Pike County.

All of the services provided at VIP are trauma-informed, empowerment based and client centered. Our mission and our philosophy continue to guide the work that we do.