A Kid's Place

While April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month I wanted to write this letter to bring awareness to a center we have right here in Lawrenceburg, TN.  Each year approximately 12 out of every 1,000 children are abused. 

While this is unfortunate, we are fortunate to have A Kid’s Place, A Child Advocacy Center.  This center is a non-profit and receives most of its funding through the local and state level as well as through some grants. 

However, the amount of funds is limited and has been decreasing over the past few years due to the economic downturn.  I wanted to share a story with you about what an advocacy center can do for a child.

This is a true story that happened to a child (not locally).  The child’s name has been changed.

Joey is an 8-year-old boy who experienced a sexual assault by a stranger.  He was in a public location when a man approached him, touched him inappropriately, and exposed himself. 

Joey was distraught and anxious for many weeks after the assault.  He was unable to talk about it without becoming visibly agitated.  Law enforcement referred the family to the CAC.  Counseling was started immediately, and his parents were involved and supportive. 

The CAC coordinator kept them informed of updates in the criminal case, and she arranged for court preparation meetings with prosecutors.  Joey was able to visit the courtroom and deal with his anxiety gradually.  Closed-circuit TV testimony was arranged when it was determined by Joey’s therapist at the Collins Center that testifying in open court would be too traumatic. 

Via closed-circuit, Joey was eventually able to successfully testify.  As difficult as it is, the testimony of child victims is essential to the successful prosecution of sex offenders.  Healing from this frightening assault will continue into the future for Joey and his family.  The Child Advocacy Center is pleased to be able to reduce some of the burden on these innocent child victims.

Child Advocacy Center’s across the world have to deal with these type of situations on a daily basis.  As a matter of fact, one out of four girls and one out of six boys will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.  Only one out of ten will tell.  I have always believed that our children are our future. 

Last year A Kid’s Place handled over 200 new cases and is currently on track to possibly have that doubled for 2010.  The reason I am writing this letter today is to help bring awareness to this growing problem.

  When a child is abused a lot of people become involved: law enforcement, child protection, prosecution, mental health, medical and victim advocacy.  It takes a lot of man hours and people to help bring justice to these cases.

A Kid’s Place is located on Deller Street in Lawrenceburg, TN and it serves Lawrence, Giles, Wayne, & Maury County.  There is an Executive Director, Prevention Coordinator, Forensic Interviewer, and a Therapist on site as well as other services that are provided.

I hope that you will be aware of what is going on around you and if you ever feel that a child is in danger please know that there is help out there!  If you would like to inquire about volunteering or make donations (supplies or monetary) you can do so at 202 Deller Street, Lawrenceburg, TN 38464.

Also, I have created a Group page on Facebook if you would like to join.  The address is:
http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?
gid=349115445322&ref=ts

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Hughes
jeffwhughes@charter.net

 

 

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