Rivas deeds building to Child Advocacy Center

December 11, 2020December 10, 2020 Jan McDonald BBRCAC, Demopolis, Rivas, Webb

The Black Belt Regional Child Advocacy Center received a welcomed and generous early Christmas present.

On hand as J.R. Rivas presented the deed to the BBRCAC are, from left, Darren Glass, center vice president; Peter Michael Reynolds, Robertson Bank; Debi Murray, Rivas, District Judge Vince Deas, center director Charlotte Webb, Audrey Anderson, administrative assistant; Suzanna Naisbett, secretary-treasurer, and board members Ellen Wallace and Dawn Hewitt.

The building on North Strawberry Street that the BBRCAC has been occupying since it opened in January now belongs to the center, thanks to J.R. Rivas, owner of Personal Touch Landscaping and Soggy Bottom. Rivas purchased the building and presented the deed to the center.

As BBRCAC board members and supporters expressed their appreciation, Rivas said, “Thank you for letting me be a part of this.”

The center provides services to children who are victims of sexual abuse or serious physical abuse and support to their families. It also brings together the professionals who lead the investigation and prosecution of these cases.

From left, J.R. Rivas, District Judge Vince Deas and center director Charlotte Webb.

“This is the greatest blessing this (judicial) circuit could ever, ever have,” said Charlotte Webb, the center’s director.

While the coronavirus pandemic shut down several CACs in the state, the Demopolis-based center remained open.

“How do you say ‘no’ to a child in need?” asked Webb, director. “You just put on a mask and keep going.

Since the BBRCAC opened in January it has worked with 45 children. Most of them have been from Marengo County, but counselors and forensic examiners also have seen children from Greene and Sumter counties and from Texas and Atlanta, Ga.

Webb, who has lobbied for such a center for decades, quickly agreed to direct the center when District Judge Vince Deas approached her in 2018. The building “was perfect for what we needed here,” she said.

Through the generosity of businesses and individuals and a $50,000 construction grant from the Goodrich Foundation, the center was renovated and fully furnished and supplied when it opened. “We didn’t have anything” to start with, said Deas.

But Webb stressed that the center, a 501 (c)(3) organization, constantly is looking for support.

“We always have needs,” Webb continued. “Now what we need is a First Aid kit.”

Because it is a pilot program the center receives only $2,000 from the state.