Organizational History Starting Point: Services for Victims of Domestic & Sexual Violence, formerly Carroll County Against Domestic Violence & Rape is a private, non-profit agency providing services in Carroll County since 1981. Begun as a grassroots response to local domestic victims, the agency has grown from a group of volunteers staffing a telephone in a woman's bedroom to an incorporated non-profit agency with three full-time staff members, a governing board of directors and a network of over 40 extensively trained volunteers. Our funding is derived from state and federal grants, municipal funding, private contributions and fundraising. Originally incorporated as The Carroll County Program on Domestic Violence, in 1984 the agency expanded its services to include services to survivors of sexual assault. From the original, impromptu hotline, Starting Point has grown to provide Carroll County with a 24hour volunteer crisis line, emergency shelter and transportation, court and hospital advocacy, peer support groups, and resources and referrals. At this time, Starting Point operates Carroll County's only emergency shelter. In 1997, the agency expanded its services to include a part time satellite office in Ossipee to serve the needs of victims in the Southern tier of the county. All of our services are offered at no cost to the victim. Starting Point also provides community education to area elementary, middle and high schools and the community at large at no fee. Starting Point is a member of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. The Coalition is a statewide clearinghouse formed to provide technical and organizational direction to crisis centers throughout the state. The Coalition also works for legislative changes to aid victims of family violence and sexual assault. As a member of the Coalition, we are evaluated every two years on the quality of our administrative and client services performance. Starting Point is funded through a variety of state and federal grants such as the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), the Family Violence Prevention Service Act (FVPSA) as well as through municipal contributions, private grants and agency fundraising. |
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