If you have been a friend of our CAC for some time, you know that last year at this time, we laid out for you what we hoped to achieve in 2019. It’s been quite a year and we are happy to report back that we have made some really good advances toward some very lofty goals!
One thing we told you last year was that in order to move the needle on the child abuse issue, we need to provide education to both children and adults. During 2019, we provided safety education to more than 2500 children in our community. This information armed kids with some useful information, including:
- What is abuse? (we explain safe touch, unsafe touch and confusing touch)
- What should you do if you are being abused? (kids don’t always know they have the right to
say NO, that they should get away if they can and tell someone) - What are some safety rules they can follow – including age appropriate decision-making
skills: Most importantly, we explain that abuse is never their fault and it’s never too late to tell
someone so they can get the help they need.
Next, we trained hundreds of adults through our Stewards of Children (Darkness to Light) program, Strong Parents/Stable Children program and Mandatory Reporter training. Slowly but surely, more and more adults are learning how to spot the signs of abuse, what to do if they suspect it and what the consequences are for failing to report.
We are continuing to try and build something very special at the CAC. We want all children to be taken care of and treated with love and kindness. However, when something bad happens, we are here to help however we can. We are always looking for ways we can improve our services to children and do our part to ensure better, safer communities.
We also had to make some difficult decisions in 2019 to try and make sure the CAC remains financially viable so we can continue to serve children. We need to be able to ensure a safe future for our kids and part of that includes making smart choices with our money. While that can sometimes feel harsh, we believe it’s our responsibility to be good stewards of the funds we receive. When those funds are cut or there are unexpected changes, we have to make adjustments here. It’s been one of those years, but we remain strong.
So, how can you help? Every donation made to the CAC goes toward our mission of helping children heal from abuse or trauma. Every $80 provides a child with a therapy session. We provide thousands of sessions each year at no cost to families. Every $250 provides one forensic interview. We provide hundreds of interviews each year.
Every amount given by you, small or large, helps us provide more and more education to our community which in turn will make us a better informed, safer community for kids. That’s really what we all want, isn’t it?
Thank you for your support of Voices of Courage over the years and we look forward to continuing to work with you to make safer communities. We are proud of where we are and excited about what the future holds. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of the children around us .
Have a wonderful holiday season.
Sincerely,
Melissa Birdsell
Executive Director2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
John Joe, President
Brent Larson Vice-President
Ron Barbosa, Treasurer
April Wood, Secretary
Kristie Arthur
Kalei Becerra
Mark Hausman
John Morin
Robert Pritchett
Richard Schwarz
Audrey Shandley
Debbie Wells
JoAnn Whittington
STAFF
Melissa Birdsell, Executive Director
Julie Riggs, Office Manager
Sally Frede, LCSW, CCLS, RPT
Denise Price, LPC
Rebecca Ripperger, PLCP
Jimmy Nash, Forensic Interviewer
Carrie Watkins, Forensic Interviewer
Sarah Hardin, Family Advocate
Cathy Coy, Family Advocate
Sandy Bembrick, Family Advocate
