Project Aware

Project Aware is a program designed to educate children grades prek-5 about sexual abuse. In this program children are first taught the difference between good touches, bad touches and confusing touches. The presenter explains to the children that confusing touches are when someone touches your private parts which are covered up by your swimming suit. The children are also taught that if some one touches them in a confusing way, they should say no, get away and tell someone. The children watch an age appropriate video dealing with these issues and then the children talk with the presenter about who to tell if they have been sexually abused. For more information or to schedule a presentation, please call (816) 931-4527.

Teen Exhange: Foundations for Personal Safety and Healthy Relationships

Teen Exchange is a comprehensive multi-session cirriculum focusing on identifying and developing healthy relationships and preventing sexual violence. Core topics include healthy relationships, sexual harassment, date and aquaintance rape, drug facilitated rape, dating violence, gender stereotypes and seeking help and/or resources for youth and others. Additional discussion topics my include victim empathy, media, and gender attitudes. If possible, time is allotted for developing a communication piece such as posters, song or play to illustrate what was learned.

Awareness Presentations:  Awareness presentations are single topic presentations to a class or group. These include: Sexual Harassment, Date and Aquaintance Rape, and Dating Violence.

Professional Education

MOCSA staff are available for training of law enforcement, medical personnel, helping professionals, clergy, school personnel and others. Professional training is available on victim sensitivity, intervention and therapy with victims, working with perpetrators, and other relevant topics. For more information or to schedule a presentation, please call (816) 931-4527.  

Volunteer Programs

Volunteers provide countless thousands of hours to MOCSA as victim advocates, community educators, fund-raisers, clerical and administrative support, and in a wide range of other capacities. MOCSA volunteers are carefully screened and receive extensive training and supervision. In exchange for their contribution of skill, energy and commitment, MOCSA volunteers receive tremendous satisfaction knowing they have directly impacted the lives of others. For more information on MOCSA's volunteer program, please see our Volunteering page or call (816) 931-4527.

Resource Center 

Victims of sexual assault are often in need of sexuality and abuse prevention information. MOCSA provides a library, professional and community education programs, information, referral and technical assistance. For more information on MOCSA's Resource Center, please call (816) 931-4527.

Sexual Assault Services

Survivors of sexual assault and their loved ones can often benefit from outside intervention days, months, or even years following an assault. MOCSA's crisis intervention services include a crisis line, referral service, medical and legal advocacy, individual short-term crisis intervention counseling and support groups for both men and women, all at no charge. Multicultural counselors are available, including services for Spanish-speaking persons. For more information please call (816) 931-4527.

Child Sexual Abuse Treatment Program

For child victims, adult survivors of child sexual abuse, family members and adolescent and adult offenders, MOCSA offers hope and help. Whole families can be evaluated, and individual, group, and family therapy are provided to assist victims and family members recover from the abuse. Families are aided in the process of working with other community agencies, such as Division of Family Services and the Family Courts, to achieve the best possible outcome for everyone involved. Spanish services are available. For more information on this program, please call (816) 931-4527.

24-Hour Crisis Line

A bi-state 24-hour anonymous hotline is answered by MOCSA staff and trained volunteers to provide crisis intervention, information and referral services to victims of sexual assault and abuse, as well as their significant others. Callers in need of immediate medical attention can arrange to have an advocate meet them at a hospital in the metropolitan area. Trained advocates provide support and assistance during the ensuing medical evidence collection and reporting process 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For more information on MOCSA's crisis line, please call (816) 531-0233 or (913) 642-0233.     

Advocacy Services

MOCSA provides hospital, police and court advocacy free of charge to victims of sexual assault. For more information on this service, please call our support line at (816) 531-0233 or (913) 642-0233.

 Programs for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

The START Program  (Survivors and Thrivers Achieve Respect Together) is part of MOCSA’s  mission to lessen the ill effects of sexual assault and abuse through prevention, education, intervention, treatment, and advocacy.

For many adult survivors, child sexual abuse can have a  lasting influence on thinking, feeling, behavior, and relationships. The START Program offers a safe harbor to understand and manage distressing beliefs and memories that can interfere with quality of life and hope for the future. START services help each participant on a journey from victim to survivor to striver to thriver.

Crisis services are available. START services are best utilized in combination with other supports and resources (behavioral, social, psychological) in the community

The MIST Project (Mapping Individual Solutions to Trauma) offers a new curriculum to address the impact of sexual violence across the life cycle of women and their families. In a 6-session therapeutic psycho-educational format delivered on-site in the community, the MIST Project :  helps women give voice to their concerns about sexual violence in their own lives; addresses the effects of sexual violence in the lives of their children and other family members; and empowers women to serve as resources to prevent and respond to sexual violence issues in their own communities.

MOCSA has offered sexual assault services for over 20 years. The MIST Project reaches women in their own neighborhoods to provide them with information, support, and a forum to discuss concerns about sexual violence and crimes such as stranger rape, acquaintance rape, stalking, traumatic sexual harassment, and the effects of  child sexual abuse. In a small group setting, participants learn about the occurrence, prevention, effects, and treatment of these crimes.

Using case scenarios, videos, and art projects, group facilitators address participants' questions about : healthy relationships, boundaries and communication skills: post traumatic stress responses; self-esteem and self-care; and community resources that address sexual violence. Guided discussion respects an individual group member's choice whether or not to disclose her own past or present trauma experience, with referral for professional treatment, if indicated. Participants receive support to discuss concerns about sexual harm to their young children, adolescents, and other family members. Upon completion of the MIST project, women are equipped with basic information and skills to be resources to other friends, neighbors, and community members about the identification, prevention, and treatment for victims of sexual violence.

The MIST curriculum is suited for presentation at agencies that serve at-risk clients: community centers, domestic violence shelters, churches, substance abusse treatment facilities, and university counselling centers.

For more information, call the Senior Clinical Coordinator at 816-285-1374.

MOCSA serves the Kansas City metropolitan area including Jackson, Clay, Cass and Platte Counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas. Outreach services are provided through community education and professional training throughout the metropolitan area.

Additionally, outreach crisis intervention services are provided for adult and adolescent rape victims in the Northland in Missouri and Wyandotte, Miami and Johnson County in Kansas. Limited services are also provided to residents of surrounding  countiess in Missouri, and Atchison and Leavenworth in Kansas.