Helping individuals heal to create stability and strength for people and communities

Across Northeast Iowa, Riverview Center answers some of the most difficult calls a community can receive.

“Our mission statement is we provide crisis and long-term support services for survivors of sexual violence in 14 counties in Iowa and two counties in Illinois,” said Gwen Bramlet-Hecker, Executive Director. “Our advocacy, our work, is all 100% confidential, and it is 100% free. We never want anyone’s inability to pay to hinder their ability to heal.”

That commitment to being free, safe, and confidential is foundational to community health and safety. Riverview Center’s 42 staff members respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, meeting survivors in hospital rooms in the middle of the night, sitting beside them in courtrooms, and helping them navigate next steps toward healing.

“We just believe survivors. They don’t have to prove it to us. Sometimes we’re the only people who believe. And for survivors to heal, they have to have somebody believe.”

The need spans ages, backgrounds, and geography. While violence does not discriminate, access to healing often does.

“Sexual violence or domestic violence doesn’t discriminate,” Gwen said. “However, that’s not to say that everybody has equal access to the same types of healing opportunities or access to systems of justice.”

In rural communities, barriers can be even more pronounced. “In rural communities, only 2% of sexual violence ever gets reported to law enforcement,” she said. “For us to be present is something we take very seriously in those rural communities.”

That presence can change the trajectory of a family. Gwen recalls a young mother struggling after an assault, unsure she could take her children to back-to-school night. An advocate went with her.

“If you help the individual heal, you help a family heal. And if you help a family heal, you help a community heal,” she said.

Since 2009, the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa and its local community foundations across its region have invested more than $250,000 in Riverview Center, helping to strengthen rural outreach, sustain 24/7 response, and expand culturally responsive support.

“The Community Foundation really listens to the communities they serve, giving decision-making power back to nonprofits on how funds get used,” Gwen said. “That support is powerful. It helps us be present. It tells communities we are here.”

When survivors are believed, families stabilize. When families stabilize, communities grow stronger.

Investing in health & safety is not abstract. It is personal. Together, we are ensuring no one has to heal alone.