It Happened to Alexa Foundation

The It Happened to Alexa Foundation is an organization founded by the parents of a rape survivor, whose purpose is to help support other survivors and parents through the trauma of the criminal trial in the hopes that more women will go through with prosecution in order to put these perpetrators behind bars.

The mission of the Foundation is to empower survivors of rape and sexual assault and to facilitate the prosecution of their offenders by providing financial, emotional, and advocacy assistance to the survivors and their supporters at the time of trial.

The Foundation provides travel assistance for up to two family members or close friends to be able to attend a court trial with their loved one who has been a victim of rape or sexual assault. The Foundation recognizes the undue financial burden imposed on the victim and family, and offers assistance to defray costs of transportation and housing, so that the victim’s support person can attend and take part in the criminal justice proceedings and be with them at this most difficult time. The Foundation seeks to encourage sexual assault victims to report any sexual assault to law enforcement and promote effective prosecution of sex crimes.

Rape victims who reside in the U.S. and who are about to testify in the criminal trial are eligible to apply for a grant to cover the expenses of a support person or persons who will accompany the rape/sexual assault victim to court. (The district attorney's office typically covers the cost for a rape survivor to return to the jurisdiction for a criminal trial.)

Qualified support persons include parents, guardians, or other family members or close friends of the survivor. The trial venue must be over 60 miles from the residence of the support persons in order to qualify.

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