Glad you found us. Whether you are a teen who has experienced sexual or dating abuse, or you know someone who has, or you want to know more about our volunteering and educational opportunities, we hope you find the information on this page helpful.
If you cannot find what you’re looking for, please email or call us.
- For support or questions about services, call anytime: 607-277-5000
- For education programs or volunteering info, call our offices: 607-277-3203
Free, confidential support
The Advocacy Center provides free and confidential services options, counseling, and advocacy for people in Tompkins County of any age, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or intellectual ability, races, ethnicity or immigration status on topics related to:
- Emotional, physical, or sexual abuse including:
- Child sexual abuse
- Sexual harassment, assault, or rape
- Controlling or abusive behaviors by a current or former romantic, dating, or sexual partner
- Stalking
- Online or digital harassment, revenge porn, coerced sexting
- Sex trafficking or forced trades involving sex
- Family domestic violence
- How to support friends
- Preventing abuse
* Teens have a legal right to call us, meet with us, and/or work with us on an on-going basis without their parents or guardians knowing or giving permission.*
Confidentiality
The Advocacy Center keeps all client communications and information in strict confidence. This includes all communication with teens, such as calls to our 24-hour Hotline or staff members, emails, texts, and in-person conversations.
Limits to what we can keep confidential
We are legally required to share limited information, with or without permission, in two situations:
- We believe an individual is actively suicidal or homicidal.
- We suspect a person under the age of 18 is being abused or neglected by a primary caregiver.
If you have any question about whether what you want to talk with us about may need to be reported you can:
- Call and talk with us anonymously.
- Ask questions hypothetically without giving us names or identifying information about the people involved.
- Create and use an anonymous email address (please note: email has a slower response time.)
You decide.
Our advocacy and counseling services are centered on supporting you and your choices. We will listen, answer questions, explain options, and support you in your emotional and decision making processes. In situations that involve school districts, workplaces, law enforcement, or other social service systems, we will do our best to explain your rights, responsibilities, and choices to you so you have a voice.
Some teens do not want anyone else to know what happened. We do not share information with anyone without your explicit permission. This includes parents, schools, therapists, law enforcement, etc. (see Limits to Confidentiality)
Some teens do want to share what happened. We can help teens think through how to discuss their experiences with family members, friends, dating partners, teachers, coaches, or other people in their lives.
More about Advocacy Center Services
Ways to talk with us
- 24-hour Hotline: Call anytime. 607-277-5000
- Email: info@actompkins.org (Be aware that this will have a delayed response.)
- In-person meetings:
- We will arrange meeting times and locations that are convenient for you including meeting with you at or outside of school.
- Transportation is a barrier for many people including teens. We will drive to meet with you. Or help you figure out other transportation options.