In southern Dallas, where even basic necessities like grocery stores can be hard to find in some neighborhoods, services for sexual assault victims are scarce.

Some resources have trickled in recently, thanks to a partnership between Methodist Dallas Medical Center and The Turning Point Rape Crisis Center based in Plano. And in January, the two groups are teaming up to open the area's first rape crisis center.

The hospital is opening a satellite Turning Point office at the Golden Cross Academic Clinic in North Oak Cliff that will provide free counseling and immediate advocacy services for victims of sexual violence.

“Methodist Dallas Medical Center, in collaboration with The Turning Point, will have the clinical resources and staffing to care for sexual assault victims beyond the physical exam," said Dr. Martin L. Koonsman, president of Methodist Dallas Medical Center. "With onsite advocacy and counseling services, we will be able to respond to the variety of these patients’ needs."

The hospital first joined forces with The Turning Point in 2014. When called, the crisis center would send trained volunteers from Collin County to help victims in southern Dallas through the daunting rape exam.

Methodist Dallas also introduced the area's only Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program in 2014. The program places specially trained nurses at hospitals to treat sexual assault survivors and collect evidence for investigators.

The new rape crisis office will offer free counseling and allow volunteer advocates to provide immediate help to victims by talking them through the investigation process, bringing them a fresh change of clothes and making sure they know they're not alone.

"Sometimes it's just as simple as saying, 'I believe you, and this isn't your fault'" said Wendy Hanna, executive director of The Turning Point Rape Crisis Center.

Hanna said once the office opens, she predicts the response will be overwhelming since it is the first rape crisis center to open in southern Dallas and it is easily accessible by bus for those who rely on public transportation.

“There's a huge need in that area; I mean, huge. My fear is that we’re going to outgrow this space in a year."

Just this past year, The Turning Point's advocacy services increased by 30 percent, Hanna said. In less than a month this past fall, the wait list for counseling went from three people to 27 people.

Hanna attributes the spike in part to the national attention on sexual harassment and assault. Victims are coming forward with their stories and showing others that it's OK to talk about it, she said.

Courtney Underwood, executive director of the SANE Initiative, knows firsthand the need for accessible resources for sexual assault survivors.

Underwood said she was raped at knifepoint by her pastor when she was 15 years old. At the time, there wasn't a single hospital in Dallas that had SANE nurses, and only one of the city's 47 hospitals provided rape kits. Without knowing where to go for help, she kept her painful story to herself for years.

"I remember what it was like to be a 15-year-old rape victim who searched for help and couldn't find any," she said. "I think that my personal experience illustrates why it's imperative to have advocates and prevention specialists. Had sexual assault ever been discussed at my school, maybe I would have handled my assault differently."

Underwood now runs the Dallas-based SANE Initiative pro-bono to help implement specially-trained nurses for sexual assault victims around North Texas. She said the new Turning Point office will be a game-changer for Dallas victims, but there's still a long way to go.

"We're finally bringing counseling, advocacy, prevention and support services to an area where they are needed most," she said. "However, this is just a small first step in bringing services to southern Dallas County, where all 11 cities have been without a rape crisis center for decades."

The Turning Point offers a 24/7 crisis hotline for victims of sexual assault: 1-800-886-7273.