to victims of violent and sexual crime revealed last week that it was threatened with closure due to lack of cash. Reporter Karen Smith finds out what The Women's Resource Centre actually does.

It is 4.30 a.m. and the majority of people in Bermuda are in their beds sound asleep.

But for Toni Daniels, her work may be just beginning as a volunteer and senior counsellor for The Women's Resource Centre.

It is the only agency on the Island that has qualified volunteers who are trained to be called out to deal with victims of assault in the very early and vital stages of an investigation.

And as one of the more experienced counsellors for the charity, Toni is regularly on call, which means being available in the early hours to attend to victims of sexual and violent crimes.

As soon as Police receive a complaint from a woman claiming to have been attacked, the on-call counsellor is paged and they must immediately turn out to the hospital or Police Station -no matter what time of day or night it is.

In the last three months of last year, Bermuda suffered a rash of attacks on women, which resulted in the centre's counsellors being called out at least once a week.

On one occasion in the run up to Christmas, Toni was paged twice in one night after Police launched two separate investigations into sex assaults.

Pleasant and softly spoken, Toni, 29, who is a former chairwoman of the charity, explained her role in the aftermath of an attack, which can often leave victims in a state of despair and confusion.

Her job is to provide support and guidance where necessary to the victim, who she prefers to call a "survivor'', but often that is the most needed thing.

"I tend to be at the hospital or the Police Station within 15 minutes of me receiving the call,'' she said.

"I have no idea what situation I will face until I get there. Every call-out I have had has been totally different simply because each victim is different and their reactions are different.

"They could be in a state of shock and trauma, they could be very upset and tearful, and some get very angry. They are enraged and literally want to find the person that has done this to them.

"My role is to get there and assess what has happened and assess their needs.

But what I do is very much dictated by what the victim wants and needs.

"If they do not want me to stay, then I will leave my name and number and ask them to call me within a day or so. Many do call me of their own volition.

"But quite often, when we arrive at the hospital, they very much need someone around for support and help. Even if it is just for moral support.'' The procedure for a victim of sexual assault is the same in every situation.

They must undergo a thorough medical examination at a special facility at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in order for their own health to be checked out, as well as forensic evidence to be collected.

It is a very lengthy process that takes between two and six hours, but on average about three-and-a-half hours.

And, of course, at some point within the first day or so they must give a detailed statement to Police.

Both leave the victim feeling humiliated and undignified, but both are as vital as the other.

But Toni said quite often victims are so overwhelmed by the attack, they are unable to make the simplest of decisions, such as whether they want a cup of tea.

Her role is to introduce herself, ask them if they need anything, before talking them through what will happen and how she can help.

Although she does not sit through the medical examinations, she is often at the hospital for many hours - her longest call-out lasted nine hours.

Toni, who owns a health food shop and is also a member of four other charities, said: "When we arrive there is so much going on for the victim with doctors and Police, it can be quite overwhelming, so sometimes we stand back a bit.

There to help -- day or night "But we let them know we are there if they need us and we try to assist them in any way we can.

"In the first few hours we do not do much deep, deep counselling, that will come later, if they want it.

"In the beginning, we are just trying to establish the base facts by talking to them. In doing that we can establish what their needs are, and also prepare them for what will happen with the examination.

"The examination is very, very traumatising, but we try to make it as easy as possible for them.

"Many survivors are emotionally shattered and it is very difficult for them to make any decision, or say what they want, so sometimes I find myself trying to work out what they need, for example, they may not say if they are cold, or want a drink.

"A lot of it is about interpreting body language and using experience. A lot of what we do has to do with instinct and learning the skills over time.

"Sometimes they don't want their families or boyfriends to be informed, so we provide the support.

"Our aim is basically to provide them with whatever they want.'' Toni, who first underwent counselling training at 18 when she became a member of the charity formerly known as the Rape Crisis Centre, has never been at the hospital on a call-out for less than three hours, which suggests that most victims want their counsellor to stay.

To somebody afraid and in trauma, the best thing they could have is a friendly face and someone to hold their hand.

But the help does not stop at the hospital.

The counsellors will make follow-up calls on their victims, and even sit with them if they wish while they make their statements to Police.

That in itself, is often as traumatising as the attack. They must relive every detail and reveal intimacies about what happened that are obviously difficult to express.

But it is after that when their relationship with The Women's Resource Centre really begins.

All of the women who were attacked during the four months leading up to Christmas still regularly attend the centre for intense counselling with qualified paid staff.

And the majority of victims attend the sessions for between six and eight months.

For some people, especially those without family back up, such as expatriate women, they may attend for a lot longer.

Amazingly, it is a free service and often the only way survivors can overcome their despair.

Only those people who make appointments and fail to show up are made to pay a fee.

So, as the need in Bermuda for victim assistance grows, it is no wonder the charity finds it increasingly difficult to stay afloat.

Toni added: "I would like to say that we hope one day to be put out of business because there is no need for a crisis intervention charity in Bermuda, but at the moment that is certainly not the case.

"I think the need for The Women's Resource Centre is well established and well proven, unfortunately, and there is no other option out there for people - we are the only agency that is qualified to be called out.

"It is very sad that we are in the position we are in, where we don't know how long we can survive as we are.

"We need to pay rent and professional people, but we have very limited resources - that means we cannot pay them for as many hours as we would like.

"The need is out there for us to have more people working more hours, but we cannot do it. We have had to scale back staff because we can't afford to pay them.

"There is no mismanagement of funds, we are just hard up.

"We need a corporate sponsor who would be willing to support us for a few years.

"I don't think anybody could say it is not a worthy cause. Their money would certainly be put to very good use.'' `Many survivors are emotionally shattered and it is very difficult for them to make any decision, or say what they want, so sometimes I find myself trying to work out what they need.' -- Women's Resource Centre counsellor Toni Daniels.