At her core, Kimmy Meinecke believes in the power of presence – especially in life’s hardest moments. A Lutheran pastor currently serving as the Vicar of St. David’s Episcopal Church, Kimmy has also spent more than five years volunteering as a Crisis Response Advocate (CRA) with our team in Spokane, Washington.
For Kimmy, this volunteer role means showing up – with compassion, belief, and a fierce commitment to supporting survivors of physical, emotional, and spiritual assault.
“It’s about being someone who stands alongside another human being in their most vulnerable moment,” she said. “I remind them of their humanity, their worthiness, their goodness – even in the face of anguish.”
Since beginning her service with LCSNW’s Inland Northwest District in September 2020, Kimmy has made a profound impact:
- She has supported dozens of survivors in the hospital during sexual assault exams, offering critical advocacy during some of their darkest moments.
- She has dedicated well over 100 hours directly to advocacy services in the hospital.
- She has answered well over 100 calls on the after-hours support line, providing emotional support, crisis intervention, and care.
- She has spent hundreds of hours on call, ready at a moment’s notice to respond to survivors in need.
- She has completed more than 100 hours of ongoing training, continually building her knowledge in best practices and trauma-informed care.
Kimmy’s journey to this work was fueled by knowing people who are survivors and by her deep anger at injustice and cruelty. Rather than sitting with that anger, she turned it into healing action – one conversation, moment of care, and relationship at a time.
The work can be emotionally exhausting, and the systemic injustices survivors face can be infuriating. But Kimmy is sustained by a powerful belief: that even when someone feels shattered, they are still fully human, alive, and worthy of dignity and hope.
Asked what success looks like, Kimmy answered: “When a survivor is able to breathe more deeply after our time together.”
Her work with LCSNW has shaped her not just as a volunteer, but as a more outspoken advocate for survivors in her broader community. Kimmy is a model of the LCSNW mission in action – providing health, justice and hope to those who need it most.
