Lawton Sexual Assault Response team in need of volunteer nurses

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - The Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) was started just over two years ago. The team is comprised of city officials, non-profits, and community volunteers.

Their main goal is to help victims of sexual assault, and one way of doing so is to have specially trained nurses who examine victims and collect forensic evidence.

“I think sometimes you don’t realize that you need something, or you need a service until it impacts you or it impacts a family member, or someone that is close to you, someone you know. So you just- you think that you’re just all by yourself and you just don’t know what to do,” said Marie Detty Executive Director Kerrie Mathews. “So having a support team and people that you can talk to that understand what has happened to you, it is just vital for people in the community.”

According to Mathews, having local Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) can drastically shorten the examination process of sexual assault victims.

“We want that process to happen as quickly as it can when someone comes in to report, and so if we do not have that resource here in our community, we have to find it outside of our community. It can be a very long process for someone when we have to do that,” said Mathews.

The training costs $575 and is open to any registered nurse.

However, RNs from Southwestern Medical Center or Comanche County Memorial Hospital will be reimbursed after completing and joining an on-call list.