There are several national hotlines for surviors of domestic violence and sexual assault. But experts say that for those facing a painful situation, it can help to speak with someone who can understand some context.
Rachel Carr-Shunk is a citizen of the Sault St. Marie Chippewa Indians and the deputy executive officer of StrongHearts Native Helpline.
“We are culturally honoring or culturally appropriate, meaning we are designed, well, we're designed by and for American Indians and Alaska Natives,” Carr-Shunk explained.
Since launching in 2017, the helpline has expanded to become a 24-hour call center for sexual assault and domestic violence survivors. It's staffed by Indigenous board operators and is anonymous for callers.
“Currently, we do have over 20 advocates across the United States, but we recognize that, you know, we are kind of missing the mark in Alaska,” Carr-Shunk said.
Carr-Shunk said that the organization recognized that Alaska Native people experience some of the highest rates of domestic violence in the country, and they live in a region whose most remote parts are unique from the rest of the United States. StrongHearts set out to build a branch of the call line specifically for Alaska, with phone operators that could have its landscape and cultures in mind.
It hired Minnie Sneddy, the organization’s sexual assault services specialist.
“I always tease people like, 'oh, first time I get hired for being a village girl,’” Sneddy joked, chuckling.
Sneddy grew up in Hooper Bay and said she knows how the remoteness of some Alaska Native communities can make it harder to access consistent help.
“[Like] not being able to be seen due to the lack of behavioral health aides, or lack of, you know, clinicians, the high turnover rates of counselors and therapists in the region,” Sneddy said.
Sneddy’s position aims to help fill in the gaps and to develop a call line that’s a reliable support.
It’s about being a resource to help things from slipping through the cracks.
“A lot of them go, you know, go through the loops, and hopefully, you know, StrongHearts — a Native helpline — can be there to help,” Sneddy said. “And the majority of [the] time, the victims just want to be heard, you know, or at least someone to talk to.”
Beyond the one-on-one support of the call line, StrongHearts is also able to connect survivors with resources in their communities. Sneddy said in building the Alaska branch, she’s been collecting resources in each community: phone numbers for health clinics, law enforcement, legal support, and regional shelters for survivors. For the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta, that looks like village-specific contacts.
“With the Y-K region there’s, like, a lot. There's like, 40 or 52, 48 and, yeah, that was a lot of phone calls,” Sneddy said.
Eventually, StrongHearts plans to hire additional Alaska Native advocates to support the Alaska call line.
Carr-Shunk said that’s part of why StrongHearts Native Helpline was created: to provide help with a deeper level of understanding.
“I think when survivors reach out to non-Native organizations or resources, they kind of have to over-explain their experience, especially when it comes to historical trauma or just things that are very unique to Indigenous cultures,” Carr-Shunk explained. “I think that kind of puts a barrier up for a lot of folks.”
It’s a sentiment Sneddy echoed.
“You speak the same language, you understand each other. You know what happens in the background,” Sneddy said. “You know everything that happens in each community, A to Z, and you're better able to understand them, and you're better able to connect with them.”
Sometimes that same language can be literal. Sneddy said that part of her role has been teaching the organization about Alaska Native culture.
“All the cool dialects, like ‘not even’, or ‘not sure.’ And then thank god [the training] is just over the phone, or I'd be teaching them ‘Look, look for the eyebrows,'” Sneddy joked.
The organization plans to launch its Alaska Native-specific call line later this year. It will be a separate phone number survivors will be able to call or text. Until then, anyone can still call or text StrongHearts’ main line to be connected with an advocate in the lower 48.
That number is 1-844-762-8483.
