Child Advocacy Center continues to look for local support as it aids abuse victims
Now at the start of its third year of operations, the Black Belt Regional Child Advocacy Center is drawing assistance from a widening area as it continues to provide support and counseling for victims of child abuse and their families.
“If people ever understood what we are and what we do for the children of the 17th Judicial Circuit, they would support us,” said Charlotte Webb, director of the BBRCAC.
As Webb listed the many organizations, churches and individuals that have given aid through donations, supplies and in-kind efforts, she added, “We’ve been so blessed.”
The latest addition to the center, located at 208 N. Strawberry St., is a six-foot-tall wooden fence enclosing the back yard. Michael Reynolds completed the work as part of the requirements for earning his Eagle Scout Badge.
Now Webb dreams of adding seating, flower beds and perhaps a tree to have a place for the BBRCAC’s clients to let off steam.
Thanks to the center’s supporters, it has been provided gift bags at Christmas for the seven children were in counselling at that time, and labor and paint to update the kitchen and bathroom areas are being donated.
As one of the fund-raising events in the planning stages, Lauren Shelt of Livingston expects to hold a tennis clinic at UWA and give the proceeds to the center.
The Men’s Club of the Demopolis United Methodist Church headed the Blue Ribbon Campaign in April 2021 to benefit the center, a campaign which will be expanded this year.
A $5,000 grant is paying for a needed vacuum, office chair, shredder and other items.
The biggest donation came in December 2020 when J.R. Rivas purchased the building housing the center and donated it to the BBRCAC.
For the first two years of the center’s operations, most clients came from Marengo County, although children from Georgia and Texas found their way here. Now that governments in Sumter and Greene counties have become more aware of the center’s services, more children are being referred by their respective Departments of Human Resources and law enforcement, said Webb.
Marengo County and the cities of Demopolis and Livingston already are including the BBRCAC in their budgets. Webb is working with the Sumter and Greene county commissions and the towns of Eutaw and York, encouraging them to add the center each year.
“To survive, we must be included in the budgets of every city and county in our service area,” she said. “A lot of legwork is left to be done.”
The director praised local officials for the aid they have given. “The DA’s office goes above and beyond to help us,” she said. “I could not function without the Demopolis Police Department and Rex Flowers.”
Webb had hoped by now for the center to step up from a pilot project of the Alabama Network of Child Advocacy Centers to an associate status. The pandemic along with other issues delayed that goal. As a pilot project it receives only $2,000 annually. A higher status means greater funding, although the need for local support will never go away.
The local CAC was the only one in the state to remain open throughout the pandemic. Monetary restraints have limited its hours to Tuesdays and Thursdays, but Webb said she is on call to respond whenever she gets a call about a suspected child abuse case.
In spite of budget constraints, the center continues to plan for expanded services. Webb hopes by 2023 to start outreach prevention programs in grades 3, 5, 7 and 9.
Monica Oliver, former Westside Elementary School Resource Officer with the Demopolis Police Department, will start forensic interview training this month. Once she completes the intensive instruction, the center no longer will have to call in a forensic interviewer from Tuscaloosa.
Each month a multidisciplinary team meeting is held in the center to discuss ongoing cases. Representatives come from the District Attorney’s office, DHR, law enforcement and BBRCAC.
“Everyone has input so cases can be moved on quickly,” said Webb.