The Teal House will showcase the various services the agency offers during an open house Thursday, Sept. 26 from 6-9 p.m.
The event will take place in the Teal House office at 209 South College St. in Statesboro. Serving as the Statesboro Regional Sexual Assault Center, staff from the Teal House invites the public to the free event. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be provided by Ellis Meats, as well.
Teal House Executive Director Lily Gray said, “We welcome the opportunity for the public to come in and check out what we do. Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. And every nine minutes, that victim is a child. We want the members of our community to know that we are here for them if they become part of that statistic. So please join us for food, tours, a ribbon cutting and comradery.”
The event also allows the staff to show off the newly rebuilt porch that was done as a service project as part of the Bulloch County 2024 Cohort of the Management Development Program from the UGA Carl Vinson Institute for Government.
The Teal House serves the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit, which includes Bulloch, Jenkins, Screven and Effingham counties. While the center specializes in assisting victims of sexual violence of all ages, the staff also has forensic interviewers on call to talk with children from ages 3-17 who have been the victim or witness of any violent crime at the request of law enforcement of DFCS.
The non-profit also has a crisis line available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to support and provide information to sexual assault victims and their family and friends.
Additional services include medical exams for victims of sexual assault, advocacy, support groups, counseling services, community outreach and education.
The Teal House receives grants from various organizations, but its main source of funding is through donations. The cost of a rape kit is $6 and the cost of a gown for a sexual assault victim is $10. These small donation amounts can make a huge impact in the lives of survivors of sexual assault and violence, Gray said.
Through Sept. 16, The Teal House has performed 32 medical exams and 113 forensic interviews in 2024. In the past three years, the agency has done 188 adult medical exams, 55 pediatric medical exams and 463 forensic interviews.
As a fundraiser, The Teal House is partnering with locally owned Helpful Tees to host a campaign to raise money for the organization, as well as increased awareness of The Teal House’s mission.
The tees are now available online and will be available through Saturday, September 28, 2024. Those interested in supporting The Teal House by purchasing a shirt, may visit www.https://helpfultees.com/collections/all
Regular tees are $20; long sleeve tees are $25; sweatshirts are $30.