“Our greatest natural resource is
the minds of our children.”
Walt Disney
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
WHAT HAPPENS AT A CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER?
Last month, we gave an overview of what happens at a child advocacy center. We have previously (in our March newsletter) discussed what happens during a forensic interview.
The next step in the process is ADVOCACY.
When a child and family come to our agency, they are often navigating one of the most difficult experiences of their lives. The advocacy process helps ensure they do not have to walk that journey alone.
Our advocate serves as a guide, supporter, and connector for children and caregivers from the moment they enter our doors – even before. Advocacy begins by helping families understand what to expect – explaining the forensic interview process, answering questions, and providing a safe, supportive presence during an unfamiliar and overwhelming time.
But advocacy does not end after the interview.
Advocates help families access the resources they may need to move toward healing and stability. This can include connecting caregivers to mental health services, victim compensation, medical care, safety planning, community supports, and practical resources. They help families understand the investigative and court process and provide ongoing communication and support as cases move forward.
Just as importantly, advocates listen. They offer compassion, encouragement, and reassurance to caregivers and children who may feel confused, fearful, angry, or alone.
Every family’s needs are different. Some may need short-term guidance, while others may require months of support and connection. Through advocacy, our goal is simple but powerful: to help children and families feel informed, supported, and empowered as they navigate the path toward healing.
THE MORE YOU KNOW
NEED A TITLE AND SUBJECT
Summer often means freedom, fun, and a break from school routines – but it can also bring new safety considerations for children and families.
When school is out, children may spend more time in camps, sports programs, daycare settings, sleepovers, online spaces, or with extended family, neighbors, babysitters, and family friends. While these experiences can be positive and enriching, changes in routine can also create situations where parents and caregivers may need to be extra intentional about safety.
One important way families can help protect children is by keeping communication open. Regular conversations about boundaries, trusted adults, body safety, and online behavior can empower children to speak up when something feels uncomfortable or confusing.
Summer can also mean increased screen time. Gaming platforms, social media, messaging apps, and online communities create opportunities for connection – but also potential risks. Caregivers can support digital safety by knowing what apps children use, setting age-appropriate boundaries, and talking openly about online interactions.
Simple steps can make a big difference:
Know who is supervising your child and understand supervision plans.
Talk about body boundaries, privacy, and safe versus unsafe secrets.
Create an environment where children know they can talk without fear of getting in trouble.
Stay involved in your child’s digital world and encourage questions.
Safety conversations do not need to be scary or one-time discussions. Small, ongoing conversations help children build confidence, recognize trusted support, and know they are not alone.
Summer should be a time for children to explore, learn, and make memories. With awareness, communication, and connection, families can help create safer spaces for children to thrive.
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Quiet Power of Resilience
When people hear the word resilience, they often imagine strength, toughness, or the ability to simply “bounce back” from hardship.
But in our work, resilience rarely looks loud or dramatic.
Sometimes resilience looks like a child walking into therapy for the first time after weeks of uncertainty. Sometimes it looks like a caregiver choosing to ask for help. Sometimes it is a child beginning to smile again, sleep more peacefully, trust a safe adult, or find the words for feelings they have carried silently for far too long.
Resilience is powerful – but it is also deeply human.
Children who have experienced abuse or trauma do not heal because they are somehow unaffected by what happened to them. They heal through connection, safety, support, and access to caring, trauma-informed services. Resilience grows when children are believed, protected, and reminded that they are not alone.
At Voices of Courage, we witness this quiet power every day.
Healing is rarely linear. These are victories and setbacks, progress and difficult moments. Yet time and again, we see children and families continue forward with courage, supported by advocates, therapists, caregivers, multidisciplinary partners, and a community that cares.
This work reminds us of an important truth: resilience is not something a child must find entirely within themselves. It is something we help build together.
As a community, each of us has a role to play – whether by supporting local services, learning about trauma-informed care, advocating for children, or simply creating spaces where children and families feel safe, heard, and valued.
Thank you for being part of that work. Your support helps make healing possible and strengthens the resilience of children and families across our communities every day.
Together, we are helping write stories that are not defined by trauma alone, but by hope, healing, and the extraordinary strength that grows through support and connection.
With gratitude,
Melissa Birdsell
Together, we can build a community where every child has the opportunity to thrive.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
MYTH VS. FACT: Children Heal Quickly After Disclosure?
We continue our series on Myth v. Fact around child abuse and responses to abuse. We want to dispel some myths related to child abuse because myths can be harmful. Facts keep children safe.
MYTH: Once a child tells someone about the abuse, the hardest part is over – and children bounce back quickly.
FACT: Disclosure is an important beginning, but healing is often a long-term journey.
When a child discloses abuse, many people assume that speaking up brings immediate relief and recovery. While disclosure can be a powerful first step toward safety and support, it does not automatically erase the emotional, mental, or physical impacts of trauma.
Children may continue to experience anxiety, depression, sleep difficulties, behavioral changes, challenges at school, trust issues, or confusion long after disclosure. For some, trauma responses may not appear immediately and can surface weeks, months, or even years later.
It is not uncommon for parents or caregivers to tell us, following the forensic interview, that their child is ‘fine’ and not in need of therapy. Then, a few weeks or even months down the road, they call back to say things are no longer ‘fine’.
Every child’s healing process looks different.
The good news is that children are incredibly resilient – but resiliency does not mean a child is ‘unaffected’ or simply ‘gets over it’. Resiliency grows when children have consistent support, feel safe, are believed, and have access to caring adults and trauma-informed services.
Protective factors that can strengthen resilience include:
- Safe, supportive relationships with caregivers and trusted adults
- Access to mental health counseling and trauma-informed care
- Stable routines and predictable environments
- Opportunities to build confidence, coping skills, and health connections
- Communities that respond with compassion, understanding and support
Healing is not always linear. There may be setbacks, difficult days, or periods of growth followed by renewed challenges. That does not mean a child is failing – it means healing is a process.
At Voices of Courage, we walk alongside children and families beyond the moment of disclosure. Through advocacy, forensic interviews, mental health services and ongoing support, we help children build the safety, skills and resilience they need to move forward.
Disclosure is not the end of the story – it is the beginning of healing.
Together we can build a community where children feel safe, supported and protected.
COMMUNITY UPDATES
CORPORATE CHAMPIONS CAMPAIGN UDATE
Our Corporate Champions Campaign is designed to partner with local businesses that share our commitment to protection children and strengthening families.
These partners are playing a vital role in ensuring children in our community can access services without cost, delay or barriers, regardless of the family’s circumstances.
This month, we feature two new partners. The first is Nold Bryant Planning and Investments, a company dedicated to guiding individuals and business owners on their financial journey.
We also welcome SJC Marketing to the team! SJC Marketing offers strategic solutions for organizations seeking to have their voices heard in crowded markets.
We have more coming in next month’s edition. If you would like to join this growing group of companies in working together to protect children, just click here or contact Melissa to learn more.
COCO'S CORNER
In case you haven’t been introduced, this is Coco – our facility dog. She joined us in September 2025 and has been learning how to be a calming presence for the children who come to our facility.
In May, Coco traveled with one of our therapists to Carden Park Elementary School. She had so much fun meeting new kids and helping our therapist with her work.
It would be an understatement to say that her visit was well received by the children and staff at Carden Park!
Later, she also visited students at Truman and Robidoux Middle Schools.
We will continue to keep you up to date on Coco’s activities every month herein Coco’s Corner.
If you would like to follow Coco on social media, here is her Facebook page.
If you’d like to help support expenses related to Coco’s care, just click here!
#itisyourbusiness Missouri Child Abuse & Neglect Hotline 800-392-3738