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We would like to comment on The Albuquerque Tribune's article "DNA links man to August rape case," of Jan. 10, and inform your readers of a very important service available to them.

A Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners nurse obtained the DNA, which the above article alluded to, and which was critical in the identification of the suspect. The victim was examined, and evidence collected at the Albuquerque SANE office shortly after the assault.

The Albuquerque SANE Collaborative has been serving New Mexico for more than 10 years. The mission of this nonprofit organization is to "serve sexual assault victims and their families by providing immediate, compassionate, culturally sensitive and comprehensive medical treatment and forensic evaluation by nurse experts." These services are free to anyone regardless of gender, income or age and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

SANE organizations are present in most states and have multiple sites within New Mexico. Albuquerque SANE was founded in response to the need to provide victims of sexual assault with a professional, timely and comprehensive assessment, while securing evidentiary specimens in the strict manner required to stand in a court of law.

Typically, victims of sexual assault have to deal not only with the physical consequences of the assault, but also with its emotional and psychological consequences. The emergency rooms, where the victims typically think of going after being sexually assaulted, are often ill-equipped to handle this type of trauma, as they rush to attend the myriad other urgent medical needs of their patients.

It is not surprising then, that it was emergency room physicians, such as our medical director, Irene Agostini, and other victim advocates, who more than 10 years ago felt the need to create a safe haven for these clients.

The SANE office provides such a haven at the SANE clinic. Clients don't have to wait in crowded waiting rooms for hours; they don't have to deal with the hassle of payment or lack of insurance and inappropriate and unnecessary paperwork; and they don't have to tell their story multiple times to different providers.

Instead, our clients are attended to by specially trained SANE nurses. SANE nurses provide thorough and unhurried examinations tailored to the special needs of any given client.

They also are trained to obtain the necessary specimens in the strict manner required to comply with forensic standards. These standards include, among other requirements, maintaining a chain of custody for all specimens which the organization maintains in collaboration with our law enforcement partners. Our clients are free to press charges against their assailants, and, if so, our nurses may be asked to provide testimony in court.

The state of New Mexico has nine SANE offices situated in various communities throughout the state. Albuquerque SANE provides services to anyone who seeks them, but most of our clients are from Bernalillo County and surrounding counties, such as Sandoval, Valencia and Torrance. Albuquerque SANE serves about 450 clients per year.

The Albuquerque SANE Collaborative is funded through state, county and city grants and fund-raising by our staff and board members. Thanks to the foresight of United Way and its many donors, as well as the city of Albuquerque, Albuquerque SANE is now situated in the city of Albuquerque's Family Advocacy Center. Our spacious new office provides a pleasant, safe and welcoming site for our clients, as well as for our staff.

SANE provides an important service to our communities, and it does so in collaboration with other community partners such as United Way, the Albuquerque Police Department, the District Attorney's Office, Rape Crisis Center, domestic violence shelters and other victim-advocacy groups.

Furthermore, our services benefit not just our clients and their families but also our hospitals, as we help decompress the overwhelmed emergency departments of our cities. To properly examine and care for victims of sexual assault requires considerable time and the infrastructure necessary to process forensic evidence.

Thanks for the opportunity to let your readers know about this very important service.

Goldstein is president of the board, and D'Anza is program director, of the Albuquerque Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Collaborative.