{"id":244713,"date":"2026-07-16T10:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T10:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/244713\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T10:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T10:23:09","slug":"philadelphia-sexual-assault-response-center-moves-to-health-department","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/244713\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center moves to health department"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Philadelphia\u2019s only centralized center dedicated exclusively to examining, treating and supporting survivors of sexual assault is now managed by the city Department of Public Health, officials announced Wednesday.\n<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center<\/a>, known as PSARC, has been operating under Drexel University\u2019s College of Nursing and Health Professions since 2011 with support from WOAR \u2013 Philadelphia Center Against Sexual Violence.\n<\/p>\n

The center has faced significant challenges over the years, including staffing shortages and funding gaps at a time when demand for sexual assault exams and care has grown.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

The city will now assume the center\u2019s costs at its location on E. Hunting Park Avenue in North Philadelphia with $300,000 earmarked<\/a> in the city\u2019s fiscal year 2027 budget<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

Supporters called the move \u201cinspiring and hopeful\u201d for the future of support services after sexual assault.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis space is vital to survivors in the city of Philadelphia. This was necessary. This funding was necessary,\u201d said LaQuisha Anthony, acting executive director at WOAR. \u201cWe look forward to this next chapter and hope and determine that an unwavering commitment to survivors in our community continues.\u201d
\n\"CityThe Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center, or PSARC, will now be managed under the city\u2019s health department, officials and nonprofit leaders announced Wedesday, July 15, 2026, at City Hall. The center has operated under Drexel University since 2011. (Nicole Leonard\/WHYY)\n<\/p>\n

Drexel is \u201cproud to transition this vital program\u201d to the city health department, Emily Roper, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions, said in a statement.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cFor more than a decade, PSARC has provided compassionate, expert care to survivors of sexual assault, and we are deeply grateful to the dedicated clinicians and staff whose unwavering commitment has made that possible,\u201d Roper said. \u201cThis transition has been thoughtfully planned in close collaboration with the City of Philadelphia to ensure continuity of services for survivors while positioning PSARC for continued growth and long-term sustainability as a critical resource for the Philadelphia community.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

PSARC is staffed by doctors and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, or SANE professionals, who are trained to perform forensic sexual assault examinations and rape kits, including the collection of evidence that could be used if and when survivors pursue criminal charges against an attacker.\n<\/p>\n

Medical teams also provide trauma-informed comfort, guidance and follow-up care for assault survivors.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

PSARC performed 338 forensic exams last year, according to city officials, a 9% increase from 2024, said Dr. Nina Ahmad, at-large city council member and chair of the Committee on Public Health and Human Services.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very timely move for us to tell the city that we\u2019re taking this seriously,\u201d she said of the transition.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[8055,69,71,70,337],"class_list":["post-244713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-drexel-university","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-sexual-assault"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}