Our Services

Hotline (828) 254-0516

Helpmate’s hotline is accessible 24/7 for anyone affected by intimate partner abuse. It is a dedicated line answered by trained staff and volunteer advocates.  Anyone can call for information, emotional support, safety planning strategies, crisis intervention support, community resource referrals, and information about Helpmate’s free services for survivors of intimate partner violence.  

Helpmate offers a crisis shelter for survivors who are actively fleeing intimate partner violence relationships. Once survivors are successful in seeking safety with us, they are provided with emergency food, clothing and toiletry assistance on site. In addition to meeting basic needs, survivors are also offered individualized case management designed to support residents in meeting their short-term and long-term goals.

Shelter is home to the Empowerment Group and some in-house counseling services to ensure that transportation barriers are minimized for residents. Our program also frequently collaborates with other community partners to provide free, confidential services to shelter residents such as: AIDS/HIV testing, music/art therapy, cooking classes and more.

Case Management/Advocacy

Helpmate’s case managers help survivors enact personalized plans to create safety, stability and support in their lives. Practical issues such as housing, education, employment, transportation and childcare are addressed, and advocacy with service providers and governmental agencies is provided as needed.

Intake at the Family Justice Center

Intake Specialists meet with survivors accessing services at the Family Justice Center for the first time. They explain the various services available, help a survivor navigate the services they are interested in that day and assist with initial safety planning

Education for Allied Professionals

We offer free training for professionals who are often first responders to survivors of domestic violence.  This can include healthcare providers, employers, mental health professionals, social workers, law enforcement officials, educators and many more.  These allied professionals learn to recognize the signs of abuse, receive information about how to support survivors and learn how to make referrals to Helpmate’s services.

Community Education

Education and awareness campaigns are essential to building communities that reject abuse. We provide outreach to faith communities and civic groups to build a coalition of support for victims. Helpmate also provides prevention education to other groups in our community such as substance use recovery programs, pregnancy support groups, and many more.

• Domestic Violence 101: Defining and understanding the complexities of domestic violence and how to respond appropriately.
• Helpmate in Faith Communities: Trainings geared specifically for faith leaders, congregation members, and youth.
• Domestic Violence in the Workplace: Helping businesses to create awareness and policies that appropriately address domestic violence in the workplace.
• We can provide presentations and trainings that are tailored for any group who wants to learn more about healthy relationships, intimate partner violence, and Helpmate’s free services to survivors.

Youth Prevention Education

Helpmate offers both single- and multi-session programming about healthy dating and dating abuse prevention to youth ages 12-18 in public and private schools, youth groups and summer camps. College workshops are available upon request and are tailored to the needs of the group.

• Dating Violence 101: A one-session curriculum teaching teens to identify abusive behaviors and cultivate healthy relationships

• Helpmate offers an adaptation of Safe Dates, an evidence-based, multi-session curriculum that strives to:

  • raise students’ awareness of what constitutes healthy, consensual relationships and abusive dating relationships

  • raise students’ awareness of dating abuse and its causes and consequences

  • equip students with the skills and resources to help themselves or friends in abusive dating relationships

  • students with the skills to increase their understanding of consent and to develop healthy relationships, including positive communication, anger management, and conflict resolution.

• Training of Trainers: These workshops are focused on teaching educators and other youth workers about how to talk about dating abuse with teens.
• Talking with Your Teens: A workshop focused on teaching parents how to identify signs of abusive relationships and support their teens in cultivating healthy relationships.

Awareness Opportunities

We encourage individuals, businesses, and organizations to post our 24-hour hotline flyers and trifold cards in any location or facility they have connections with (workplaces, community centers, faith communities, gyms, doctors offices, schools, etc.).  We also have bumper stickers, tote bags, pens, magnets, and so much more to create awareness about Helpmate and the work we do in the community.  We would love to share this information more widely in our community and we need your help!

For more information about our educational and training materials and programs, or to schedule a Helpmate presenter, please contact Caitrin Doyle, Helpmate’s Outreach Coordinator at (828) 254-2968, ext. 160 or cdoyle@helpmateonline.org. 

Survivors of domestic violence receive free, confidential counseling from a team of licensed and license-eligible staff as well as graduate interns trained to honor the unique situation of each individual client.Survivorsare eligible for up to eight free sessions, with the possibility of additional counseling support on an as-needed basis.

Our counseling staff is trauma-informed with individual counselors trained in EMDR, CBT, DBT, ACT, Person-Centered, Psychodynamic and Grief Recovery modalities of intervention.

We currently have two full-time therapists as well as a part-time bilingual counselor (English,Spanish) and 1-3 counseling interns. To inquire about our counseling services and to schedule an intake appointment, please contact Lauren Ray, our Counseling Coordinator, at 828-254-2968 ext. 114 or via email at lray@helpmateonline.org. Due to the high volume of inquiries about our counseling services, please allow 1-3 business days for response.

A variety of groups help meet the needs of survivors seeking peer and group support. We currently offer an Empowerment Group on Tuesday evenings, which is a survivor-directed support group facilitated by a member of our counseling staff. We also run a Latina Empowerment Group on Wednesday evenings that is tailored specifically to the needs of Spanish-speaking survivors. The counseling program also facilitates Domestic Violence Education classes every Tuesday morning. Please call our business line at 828-254-2968 or our 24-hour crisis line at 828-254-0516 for more information about how to get involved with these groups.

Helpmate supports survivors and their children. Our children’s services include:

• Support navigating cases with Child Protective Custody (CPS)
• Advocacy with Department of Social Services (DSS)
• Juvenile Court accompaniment and advocacy
• Child and Family Team (CFT) accompaniment and advocacy
• Case management services to help regain stability (housing, transportation, etc.)
• Referrals to community resources for children and survivors
• Resources and information to help survivors and their children
• Resources for resiliency
• Triple P–Positive Parenting Program
• Specialized in-shelter services for children
• Emergency Crisis Service

Helpmate’s trained Court Advocates and volunteers assist victims in both civil and criminal court systems. Victims establish plans for personal safety, gain an understanding of their legal rights, and receive assistance navigating the court process.

Helpmate does outreach to the queer community in order to better understand the barriers to accessibility.  We also conduct internal trainings to increase LGBTQ+ competency among staff and volunteers.  We strive to shift our model to better serve all survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence. 

It is our goal that all survivors feel safe, heard, and welcome at Helpmate. 

Educational workshops and presentations are offered to LGBTQ+ youth groups and adult groups, and allied professional trainings are offered to those organizations that serve LGBTQ+ individuals.  For more information or to schedule a training, please contact Catrin Doyle, Coordinator of Outreach and Volunteer Programs, cdoyle@helpmateonline.org.