Sexual Assault Services Organization

Background Statement

Sexual Assault Services Organization, originally known as the Rape Intervention Team, began in 1977. A hospital social worker saw how hard it was for survivors to get help, and gathered volunteers to offer support. At first, services were only provided at the hospital. Soon after, SASO added a 24-hour crisis line so survivors could reach someone anytime, day or night. SASO became an official nonprofit in 1989. Today, our trained staff and volunteer advocates provide crisis intervention, medical and legal advocacy, counseling, support groups, prevention education, emergency financial help, and referrals to other resources.

Over time, SASO expanded our prevention and education programs. In 1990, SASO added its first comprehensive prevention program, the Child Assault Prevention Program (CAPP), a school-based national curriculum that aims to reduce children’s vulnerability to all forms of abuse, including sexual abuse. In 2002, after determining that one-third of hotline calls involved teen victims, SASO expanded to include teen-specific prevention programming. By 2009, SASO’s prevention curriculum was formally integrated into the 9-R School District. In 2011, we created the region’s first support group for male survivors.

In 2016, SASO saw a growing need for better outreach to underserved communities, including Native American, Latinx/Latine, LGBTQ2S+, immigrant, elder, and disabled community members. We expanded our Outreach role into Cultural Outreach to better serve every community member possible. Since then, we have provided thousands of community members with information and education to help prevent sexual violence and support survivors.

Today, SASO has grown into a regional service provider. We are the only sexual assault advocacy agency serving La Plata and San Juan Counties—and as of 2025, we have expanded into Montezuma and Dolores Counties. This expansion brings services to rural areas where survivors had few or no options before. Our advocates now provide support in many settings, including hospitals, schools, the county jail, Community Corrections, and the Southwest Safehouse. We also operate an office in Ignacio to better serve Southern Ute tribal members.

SASO continues to strengthen prevention education. In 2024, we reached more than 3,000 students with workshops on consent, boundaries, healthy relationships, online safety, and bystander intervention. We also provided training for teachers, parents, and professionals. Schools and community partners continue to request more programming, showing a clear need for continued education across the four counties we serve.

In total, SASO supported 11,438 community members in 2024 through crisis services, education, cultural outreach, and community events. We expect these numbers to grow as more people learn about our services and as we continue to expand our programs.

Even as we grow, our mission remains the same as it was in 1977: to provide compassionate support to survivors of sexual violence and to create safer, healthier communities through advocacy, prevention, and education.

What is Sexual Assault?

Sexual assault is any unwanted sexual act or a sexual act that occurs without the consent or permission of parties involved. This can include a large range of behaviors that violate a person's space and safety in a sexual way. Sexual violence is a tool used to hold power over another person.

No one deserves to be sexually assaulted, and no one asks to be sexually assaulted because of their clothes, behavior, or lifestyle.