T-R FILE PHOTO - ACCESS Executive Director Tess Cody, left, says 465 survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other violent crimes were served in Marshall County between July of 2017 and June of 2018.

New Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support (ACCESS) Executive Director Tess Cody made a visit to Marshall County Tuesday to talk services and data with the Marshall County Board of Supervisors.

Cody has headed ACCESS since February and she noted some trends and changes in the agency, which serves survivors of sexual assault, domestic abuse, violent crimes and the families of homicide victims.

“We actually saw an 8 percent increase in the last year and part of that is the expansion of our homicide and other violent crime program,” Cody said. “That is a new service for us, that is something that we started taking on in the last two years that was kind of a slow-to-grow program.”

In total, she said ACCESS served 465 survivors in Marshall County between July of 2017 and June of 2018. The agency provides services to Tama, Story, Greene and Boone counties as well.

One loss in service Cody said ACCESS will be having is in its transitional housing program.

“Transitional housing programs are meant to serve folks who have the highest barriers related to homelessness,” she said, citing substance abuse issues or high eviction rates as some examples. “Unfortunately, that was funded through one funding source, the (federal) Office on Violence Against Women — they’re kind of known for one-and-done programs.”

The transitional living program provided clients temporary housing for six months to two years and has been used by ACCESS for the past three years.

Despite losing a longer-term housing program, Cody said the Marshall County emergency shelter unit has seen an increase in activity after a revamping period.

Unlike other local service agencies, Cody said ACCESS in Marshall County saw relatively little damage from the July 19 tornado.

“We were lucky, none of our emergency units or transitional housing units were impacted by the storm. Neither was our office,” she said. “The impacts have more been about the needs of our clients and the housing barriers they have been experiencing.”

Board of supervisors Vice Chairman Dave Thompson asked Cody if there is any duplication of efforts between ACCESS and other agencies in Marshall County. Cody said the agency does not duplicate any efforts, but works well with other agencies, such as Latinas Unidas Por Un Nuevo Amanecer (LUNA) and Youth and Shelter Services of Marshall County (YSS).

ACCESS is funded in part by money from the five counties it serves. Marshall County officials are expected to begin the formal budgeting process in the coming months for Fiscal Year 2020.

For more on ACCESS, visit https://www.assaultcarecenter.org/

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Contact Adam Sodders at

(641) 753-6611 or

asodders@timesrepublican.com