SASO opens Cortez office, expanding in-person support for Dolores County survivors

Sexual violence remains a major public-health issue in Colorado. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says 60% of women and 26% of men in the state have experienced some form of sexual violence, and many first experienced it before age 18. For survivors in Dolores County, the problem has also been access: help has often meant a remote call, a harder-to-arrange trip, or both.

The Sexual Assault Services Organization plans to open a Cortez office June 1 at 640 East Second Street, giving Montezuma and Dolores counties a local in-person option for advocacy. SASO says its services are free and confidential, and include a 24-hour hotline, court accompaniment, help navigating medical care, guidance on reporting options and referrals to community resources.

The new office matters in a rural region where distance and privacy can keep people from seeking help. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center says rural survivors can face long travel distances, fewer local services and privacy concerns, barriers that can be especially steep in a close-knit county like Dolores. A nearby office can also make it easier for advocates to work directly with hospitals, law enforcement and social services when a survivor needs support fast.

Kelsey Lansing, an advocate with SASO, said the expansion is meant to improve access in an area where support can be harder to reach. The organization is pairing the office opening with volunteer training that begins May 23 in Cortez, part of an effort to build local capacity for advocacy and community education.

Anyone impacted by sexual violence can use SASO’s 24-hour support line at 970-247-5400. When someone contacts SASO, staff can connect them with confidential advocacy, help them sort through medical and reporting decisions, arrange court accompaniment and point them toward other community resources. Public-health experts say that kind of response works best when education, justice, health care and social services are coordinated, which makes the Cortez office a practical shift for survivors in Dolores County, not just a new address.