SASA Crisis Center is now enCourage Advocacy Center

HASTINGS — SASA Crisis Center in Hastings is changing its name to enCourage Advocacy Center.

The new name more accurately reflects the scope of the agency’s work. While it continues to serve survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault, enCourage Advocacy Center also assists survivors of stalking and human trafficking.

In addition, the agency is expanding efforts to address the root causes of violence in the community.

“This new name encapsulates so much about our organization, what we’ve accomplished and what we hope to do in the future,” Executive Director Jo Springer said. “We truly do enCourage both our clients and our world. We enCourage a community without violence.”

The agency began in 1974 as the Hastings Area Task Force Against Domestic Violence. When it added services for survivors of sexual assault several years later, the name was changed to Spouse Abuse Sexual Assault (SASA) Crisis Center.