As a recent recipient of a Higher Hope Empower Grant, we want to share why the Northern Colorado SAVA Center matters so much to our shared Colorado community and all the incredible work they do to support victims and their loved ones. 

The SAVA (Sexual Assault Victim Advocate) Center is on a mission to support survivors of sexual assault and their loved ones through trauma-focused advocacy, therapy and prevention education. With offices in Fort Collins and Greeley, Colorado, this incredible nonprofit provides free, confidential, trauma-informed support, legal/medical advocacy and youth-focused prevention programs. 

This Center was established to ensure that individuals living in Northern Colorado live full lives free from sexual violence. Knowing that 1 in 3 Coloradans experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, the SAVA Center aims to support survivors ages 3 and up, as well as their loved ones. Their services are available to anyone who has been affected by sexual violence, including non-offending family members and loved ones, regardless of when the assault occurred or if it has been reported. Currently, the SAVA Center is the only comprehensive sexual violence services agency in their community. 

Advocacy

Advocacy is one of the three core programs that the SAVA Center is comprised of. “SAVA Advocates provide immediate and ongoing emotional support, safety planning, and resource connection in the aftermath. Whether the victimization occurred hours, days, weeks, months, or years ago, SAVA Advocates are committed to listening, believing, and supporting.”

They offer a 24-hour crisis hotline to survivors, where advocates are committed to listening, believing and supporting the survivor and their loved ones. Meanwhile, they will also work to connect individuals with additional SAVA services including crisis intervention, advocacy and individual/group therapy. 

SAVA Center advocates walk with survivors as they navigate their life – through the criminal justice system, civil justice system and all the other ways the victimization has impacted their life. Types of Advocacy include: medical, law enforcement, legal and personal. 

To learn more, click here. 

Prevention

Prevention is also among their three core programs. At the SAVA Center, they know that preventing sexual violence starts with education. “At SAVA, we understand that the people most at risk of experiencing and perpetrating violence must be equipped with knowledge, tools, and resources early, in order to prevent violence by increasing protective factors. Young people need education and support regarding boundaries, communication, body image, consent, and safety from trusted adults in their lives.”

To help prevent sexual violence, SAVA offers Youth-Based Prevention Education Programs which seek to address the root causes of SV, promote healthy relationships, effective communication and boundary setting, as well as empowering youth to utilize their bystander intervention strategies. 

To learn more, click here. 

Therapy

Therapy is the 3rd core program offered at the SAVA Center. Individual and group therapy sessions are offered for survivors of SV, ages 3 and up, as well as to their loved ones at no cost. “Therapy offered at SAVA is trauma-focused, meaning therapy services concentrate on addressing the specific ways in which sexual violence has impacted your life.” 

To learn more, click here. 

Highlighting Hope 

This year, the Higher Hope Foundation had the opportunity to fund an Empower Grant to help support the SAVA Center’s mission. Through grant funding, we helped contribute to program staffing costs for specially trained victim advocates, including a bilingual advocate, who provide community-based pre-and post-conviction legal advocacy services for survivors of sexual violence in Colorado’s 8th and 19th Judicial Districts. 

Currently, SAVA helps survivors up until the offender is convicted, however, a conviction is not the end. With our grant, SAVA can continue supporting survivors post-conviction, including through sentencing, parole and release processes. This stage can last years and most survivors often have to navigate this alone. 

The Higher Hope Foundation also had the honor of being a sponsor at their 2026 SAVA Soiree. With about 600 people in attendance, a portion of our team had the privilege of hearing more about SAVA’s advocacy services. They also heard very impactful testimony from a survivor who was directly impacted by this outstanding organization. A significant amount of money was raised through ticket sales, sponsorships, bidding and donations, all of which will directly fund their program.

We look forward to continuing a strong relationship with SAVA in the years to come.