An Interview With The SAVA Center

Meet Alison Jones-Lockwood, Executive Director of the SAVA Center — Northern Colorado’s Anchor for Sexual Assault Survivor Support and Systemic Change.

In our interview with Alison Jones-Lockwood, we learned that the SAVA Center, short for the Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center, is doing the kind of work that changes not just lives, but legacies. SAVA serves Larimer and Weld Counties with an unwavering belief that every survivor deserves to be heard, believed, and supported always.

Founded on that principle, the organization offers crisis intervention, advocacy, and prevention education for those affected by sexual violence. Their mission is clear, but their vision goes even further: a world where violence isn’t inevitable, and healing is never solitary.

A Legacy That Started with a Hotline

SAVA’s roots trace back to 1976 as a Rape Crisis Hotline, originally operated by the Larimer County Mental Health Center. As the need for services outpaced resources, SAVA became a standalone nonprofit in 2003. In 2010, they expanded to Weld County, a reflection of the growing demand for trauma-informed care and systemic advocacy. And today, their reach may be wider, but their core has never changed: 24/7 support for survivors and their loved ones.

SAVA has grown from a necessary service to a regional leader in survivor support. What started as crisis response has become community transformation.

“Not Just Intervention — Disruption”

The work SAVA does is not only urgent, but also essential. A 2019 Bureau of Justice Statistics report showed that youth under the age of 17 account for the majority of sexual assault victims in Colorado, with teens aged 14–17 facing the highest rates. Often, the perpetrators are not strangers, but family members, friends, or acquaintances.

The toll? Beyond immediate trauma, survivors face chronic health impacts: autoimmune diseases, migraines, digestive issues, and more, barriers that make healing, connection, and a full life feel out of reach.

Alison explains it like this: “At SAVA, we know this work is not just about intervention; it’s about disruption, ending generational cycles of harm, raising youth to know consent, and making sure survivors never have to navigate trauma alone. It’s also about joy. Agency. A life reclaimed. And we’re here for all of it.”

A Partnership That Multiplies Impact

SAVA’s partnership with Crossroads Safehouse wasn’t formed at a boardroom table, it was born out of shared ground. Both organizations were walking parallel paths: SAVA with sexual violence survivors, Crossroads with those escaping domestic violence. Eventually, those paths intersected with purpose.

“Survivors don’t live compartmentalized lives,” Alison shares. “Survivors deserve wraparound support. So, we came together to ensure we could provide it.”

Today, the partnership is a powerful network of referrals, co-advocacy, and coordinated support, including work through the Family Justice Center. When a survivor needs safe housing, legal advocacy, or trauma therapy, they no longer have to seek out scattered resources, they’re met with a unified front of compassionate care.

One survivor’s story brings this to life. After enduring sexual violence in the context of an abusive relationship, she came to SAVA with no home, no support, and what felt like no options. But because of the partnership with Crossroads, she didn’t have to choose between safety and healing. She received both.

Healing Happens in All Dimensions

For Alison and her team, healing isn’t just physical. That’s why SAVA meets survivors in every dimension of their experience, with advocacy, therapy, education, and a trauma-informed lens that honors the whole person.

And with the support of Crossroads and other community partners, that healing doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in connection, in community.

How You Can Be Part of the Change

SAVA invites everyone to make a difference through what they call the three pillars of impact: time, talent, and treasure.

  • TIME: Volunteer as a hotline advocate, lend a hand at events, or join the Friends of SAVA, a volunteer-led group driving mission-forward support.
  • TALENT: SAVA thrives when professionals step in with their unique skills, from trauma-informed yoga to web design, landscaping, and more.
  • TREASURE: Financial support fuels every service, from emergency response to long-term therapy. Even small donations ripple into real-world impact, because every dollar sustains a survivor’s journey.

And if you’re unsure where to begin? “Just start with this: believe survivors,” Alison says. “That alone can change everything.”

To learn more or get involved, visit www.savacenter.org.

We’re proud to stand with the SAVA Center, where hope is more than a word, it’s a plan in motion.