LE MARS — Centers Against Abuse and Sexual Assault (CAASA), a community-based nonprofit that currently provides services to victims of sexual violence in 19 Iowa counties, will no longer serve Plymouth County, Woodbury County and Monona County effective Oct. 1, according to Stephanie Henrich, CAASA executive director.
The decision comes after the Iowa Attorney General’s office awarded SafePlace, another victim service provider, three-year funding to serve Plymouth, Woodbury and Monona counties. CAASA will still provide services in 16 other Northwest Iowa counties, and the organization is headquartered in Spencer, with offices in Estherville, Storm Lake and Carroll.
At the Tuesday, Sept. 15 Plymouth County Supervisors meeting, Henrich said it took a long time for CAASA to build relationships in Plymouth County. Although she is sad, Henrich said she is proud of the work the organization has done.
“I’m very proud of my team, and I’m proud of where we all stand. You know, I was the Plymouth County advocate before all of this, and it took a long time for relationships. It took a long time to build trust. It took a long time for survivors to look at CAASA as an agency and someone they could go to and tell about the worst days of their life,” Henrich said.
“The Iowa Attorney General’s office has made their decision. As of Sept. 30, we’ll stop answering calls for Plymouth County,” she added.
Henrich emphasized that CAASA will still help people in need by directing them to SafePlace or by providing support over the phone, saying the organization won’t go away.
“As of Oct. 1, all sexual assaults in Plymouth County will go directly to Safe Place. If someone reaches out to us, we’re always going to help them,” Henrich said. “We’re always going to be here. They can always contact our HOPE line [877-362-4612]. They can always contact our services at caasaonline.org. We’re not closing.”
Henrich said victims of domestic violence and sexual assault need support over long periods of time in order to feel safe, relocate or deal with court proceedings.
“They say nine out of 10 women go back about 10 times,” Henrich said. We could be with a client for a year, year and a half.”
Henrich also mentioned that her current staff is the best team she has ever had, and she will be losing four positions.
Despite the changes, Henrich said the CAASA team will stay in the Plymouth County office, which is located downtown, until December of 2026 to finish working on serious cases the organization is currently helping victims with, adding that it would be “unethical” to transfer providers at this point.
Henrich said CAASA will still hold a gala at the Garage at 800 in Le Mars on March 6, 2027, an event planned before the funding changes.
“Before this decision was ever made, we were starting our brand-new gala on March 6, and here in Plymouth County, an annual night of hope is going to continue for years to come. We have built so many relationships, and we hope to see you guys again in Plymouth County. We’re going to be there at the Garage at 800. Mike and Cheryl Wells have allowed us to have that event center, and it is a night of hope to still provide services in Plymouth County for the ones that we have.”