Program offers free rides to assault victims

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After visiting the hospital because she had been sexually assaulted, Krysta Michorczyk wasn’t sure what to do next.

For survivors, the immediate sequence of events following sexual assault can be daunting.

It’s a process that the MSU Sexual Assault Program is attempting to make less nerve-racking with a free taxi service from Sparrow Hospital’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program after completing a sexual assault examination.

“I guess for me having (the ride service) option would have been a huge deal, because at that time I wasn’t 100 percent sure I had a lot of options,” said Michorczyk, a 2009 MSU journalism alumna who co-directed the 2009 performance of “The Vagina Monologues,” which raised more than $10,000 for the MSU Sexual Assault Program.

Shari Murgittroyd, director for the MSU Sexual Assault Program, advised the 2009 “Vagina Monologues” production. The cast and co-directors decided to donate the show’s earnings to the program. The co-directors wanted “tangible” results from donations, which led to the taxi service, Murgittroyd said.

Arranging a ride home from the hospital can add stress considering most victims are not comfortable explaining why they were in the hospital immediately following sexual assault, she said.

“We want everyone in the community to know about the service because sometimes a lack of transportation may discourage people from coming to get the services they need,” Murgittroyd said.

Lauren Allswede, an advocacy coordinator with the MSU Sexual Assault Program, said she noticed Sparrow cut back on its ride service and a gap needed to be filled.

She said many victims are uncomfortable calling friends for transportation, public transportation can be frightening because of interaction with strangers and reliable transportation is difficult to find in the evening and late morning hours.

The MSU Sexual Assault Program will give the donated money to Green Cab Company, which will conduct the service. Murgittroyd said the partnership was mutually beneficial because of Green Cab owner Woody Campbell’s passion for the project.

Campbell said he selected a group of five employees to handle calls from sexual assault victims, adding everyone understands the subject’s sensitivity.

“Green Cab is anxious to help out basically any really worthwhile causes we see in town where we can help,” Campbell said.

“That’s the whole premise of our company. We’re trying to change things for the better.”

For Michorczyk and other sexual assault victims, anything to make the process less painful is invaluable.

“(It helps) knowing you have an option that doesn’t require putting you in even more of a vulnerable spot — vulnerable in a way where I have to justify why I need this and put myself out there and say this happened to me,” she said. “I can’t imagine having wanted to do that at that point — I didn’t; I still don’t.”

The MSU Sexual Assault Program offers counseling, medical, therapy and legal services for the MSU and Lansing area as well as keeping a 24-hour hotline at (517) 372-6666. It is located in Room 14 of Student Services.

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