The Gateway Center's services include counseling, sexual assault examinations and victim advocacy.
Malcolm King started out as an English major, but it didn't take him long to realize he had a different calling.
Since his graduation nearly 12 years ago, he's found his place serving his community through nonprofit work that started with grant writing and job training and today puts him in the right place to help victims of sexual assault.
"For the most part, people care about victims," says Malcolm, the Sexual Assault Director & Outreach Coordinator for The Gateway Center in the South Georgia town Cordele. "People want to see victims served, but they don't really know how to approach them. We want to be the people who understands the emotions and works to provide the help victims need."
The Gateway Center began in 2000 as a part of Crisp Regional Hospital, a place devoted to helping kids who were abused or witnesses to crime. For 15 years, it was a one-person operation performing forensic interviews. The Gateway Center expanded its services in 2016 through grants and community donations to reduce or eliminate the incidents of child abuse in the area.
The Gateway Center now offers numerous services, including counseling, sexual assault examinations and victim advocacy.
For Malcolm, his work at The Gateway Center allows him to not only work with a great team of people — the Center has two contract therapists, 11 staff, and three contract nurses — but to do so near the community where he grew up.
"I know the community, I know the people," says Malcolm, who was born in nearby Americus, GA, and graduated from Georgia Southwestern State, also in Americus. "I've been able to establish myself here as a person to turn to. My place is here."
His dream is to help establish The Gateway Center as a "triple threat," he says, providing three vital community services: Child advocacy, sexual assault, and domestic violence centers. He wants to be a voice for those who can't speak up for themselves.
"These stories need to be told," says Malcolm. "I will tell these stories for those who need our help."
Learn more about The Gateway Center.
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