The Victim Intervention Program (VIP)/Rape Crisis Center at Parkland Health & Hospital System has been recognized as the 2015-2016 recipient of the Dallas Psychological Association’s (DPA) Pam Blumenthal Community Service Award. The award was created in 1991 following the untimely death of Pam Blumenthal, PhD, an outstanding young psychologist and mental health advocate. It is intended to honor deserving individuals and organizations providing exceptional support to the community.“The Parkland Victim Intervention Program/Rape Crisis Center was an obvious choice for the Pam Blumenthal Community Service Award this year,” said Avery Hoenig, PhD, President, DPA. “The VIP program is well known for its efforts to serve some of the most vulnerable individuals in the Dallas community and consistently provides high-quality, accessible mental healthcare to its clients. VIP exemplifies the type of work that DPA seeks to honor and support with this special award.”
“We are proud that the Dallas Psychological Association, which is a premier resource for North Texas mental health professionals, selected Parkland’s VIP/Rape Crisis Center for this award,” said Melissa Reilly, Director, VIP/Rape Crisis Center.
Offering support to children, teens, adults and families who have experienced violence, Parkland’s VIP/Rape Crisis Center provides free counseling, 24-hour response for victims seen at Parkland facilities, and help finding emergency shelters, legal assistance and other services. Spanish-speaking staff is available and services in other languages are offered through interpreters.
The center’s well-trained professional staff provides counseling and emotional support, information on the effects of abuse/violence, help with responses to traumatic abuse or sexual assault, help examining the effects of childhood abuse, and documents to support legal or civil actions.
DPA is a professional organization seeking to promote understanding and acceptance, develop and promote ethical standards, and stimulate discussion of issues relevant to psychology and its practice as well as foster responsible community ties and encourage constructive relations with allied professions.
For more information about the VIP/Rape Crisis Center at Parkland, please visit www.parklandhospital.com
