SSTAR Women's CenterOutpatient Services

The Women’s Center

Power and Control Wheel (PDF)

The Women's Center provides individual and group counseling, support groups and legal advocacy, including assistance with pro se documents and accompaniment to various courts. A SAFEPLAN Advocates are located in the Fall River District Court and the Probate Court providing assistance with the filing of 209A's (restraining orders) and safety planning for victims.

Our services include:

Girl Talk
  • Legal Advocacy
  • Individual Counseling
  • Court Advocacy
  • 24-hour Crisis Hotline – 508-675-0087
  • Educational Trainings
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Group Counseling
  • Information & Referrals
  • Walk-in Services
  • Speaker's Bureau
  • Professional Training
  • Free Babysitting while receiving services

For times and dates of groups, please call (508) 675-0087. Individual counseling is offered days and evenings. Legal Advocacy and a SAFEPLAN Advocate are available 8:30am to 4:30pm.

All victims of domestic violence are eligible for our services. Most insurance plans are accepted, and services are available free of charge for those individuals who do not have insurance or an ability to pay.

For more information, please contact the Women's Center at (508) 675-0087.

Phone:
(508) 675-0087
Fax:
(508) 673-3182
Program Director:
Dale Brown, M.Ed., LMHC
(508) 324-3529
Location:
Ambulatory Building
386 Stanley Street
Fall River, MA 02720
Resources:
Jane Doe – www.janedoe.org
SAFELINK - 1-877-785-2020 (for shelter availability)
National Domestic Violence Hotline – 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)/TTY – 1-800-787-3224

Additional Women’s Center Info

Since 1977, the Women’s Center program has been meeting the special needs of women and children. We are committed to advocating for women in their quest to live their lives productively and free from violence, both in our daily work and through our local, regional, statewide and international community.

Domestic violence, sexual assault and other traumas become major familial and systemic issues. We work with families at high risk by offering a wide range of specific services to improve the entire family environment and the next generation of children. We work with faith-based communities, police, courts, parenting programs, schools, health care and other social service agencies in addressing issues concerning not only the victims, but the perpetrators of domestic violence.

Since the official inception of the Southeast Regional Collaborative in 2006, we have begun a formalized process of cooperation and networking. As one voice for the Greater Fall River area, as well as all of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and through our membership in the statewide Jane Doe Coalition, we have a well- defined presence in regional and state government to deal with legislative priorities, funding and policy making.

The Women’s Center provides individual and group counseling for women who have experienced domestic violence. Periodically, we conduct “Child Witness to Violence” groups for children. A full-time Massachusetts-certified paralegal provides a full array of services, and free babysitting, bus passes and taxi vouchers are available. Two SAFEPLAN advocates are available for clients to receive civil assistance with restraining orders in order to remove a violent person from the home and afford protection to the family. We maintain a 24-hour hotline.

A member of Greater Fall River Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Bristol County District Attorney’s Roundtable, the Women’s Center is the identified program in the area to provide prevention services and trainings to local hospitals and police stations. For the past several years, Women Center staff have served on Department of Social Services teams and have been leaders in the state in creating two “Best Practices” series for domestic violence providers and child welfare agencies. Staff also provide clinical supervision to the state-certified Batterer’s Intervention Program at SSTAR and the SAFECHILD Visitation Center if Fall River.

In 1999, the Women’s Center Director was selected to participate in “Justice Across the Atlantic,” an exchange program between the United States and the Azorean Government in Portugal to address the many practices and challenges that arise in the domestic violence field. Another staff member with over 25 years of experience in the domestic violence field has been providing annual trainings for the past eight years on the topic of “Domestic Violence and Post Traumatic Stress” for members of the Kahnawake Reservation in Quebec Province, Canada.