Source: Facebook
For people impacted by sexual violence or child abuse, finding help should not mean navigating a complex and disconnected system alone. Aurora Sexual Assault Centre is working to make that path safer, clearer, and more compassionate for children, youth, adults, and families across Southwestern Alberta.
Opened in Lethbridge in 2019, Aurora was established as the first stand-alone sexual assault centre in the region. Originally known as the Chinook Sexual Assault Centre, the organization adopted its new name in June 2026 to better reflect the growing breadth of its services and its vision for the future. Inspired by the dawn, the name Aurora represents renewal, hope, and the possibility of moving forward.
Aurora provides safe, confidential, and trauma-informed support for people of all ages. Its services include crisis support, system navigation, advocacy, specialized justice navigation, trauma therapy, peer support groups, public education, and prevention programming. The organization helps clients understand their options and access the services they need while respecting each person’s choices, voice, and individual path toward healing.
A central part of this work is the Aurora Child and Youth Advocacy Centre. Through a coordinated multidisciplinary model, the Centre brings together police, Crown prosecutors, child protection services, medical professionals, mental-health providers, and designated First Nations partners. Children and youth are supported in a welcoming, child-friendly setting through forensic interviews, court preparation, family advocacy, and connections to specialized therapeutic care. This coordinated approach helps reduce the need for children to repeatedly recount traumatic experiences while ensuring families have support throughout the investigative, judicial, and healing processes.
Aurora’s work also extends into schools, workplaces, post-secondary institutions, service agencies, and community organizations. Its education and professional-development programs address topics such as consent, healthy relationships, bystander engagement, online exploitation, workplace sexual harassment, and how to respond appropriately when someone discloses an experience of violence.
In October 2026, Aurora received an Alberta Community Justice Award in recognition of its service to victims. Nominated by the Lethbridge Police Service, the organization was recognized for providing compassionate, coordinated support and helping people navigate difficult moments with dignity, clarity, and care.
By combining immediate support, long-term healing, prevention, and community education, Aurora Sexual Assault Centre is helping create a stronger response to sexual violence and child abuse across Southwestern Alberta. Its work reflects a simple but important commitment: no one should have to carry the weight of trauma alone.