This article was originally published in the Lynn Haven Ledger/Gulf Coast Gazette in November, 2017, as part three of three.
In Panama City, there is a safe place for abused and exploited children to heal.
“The Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center provides resources that are unique from any other not-for-profit agency in our area. Our staff is responsible to provide support, a sense of safety, home, and healing for the too many children and families affected by abuse in a large, six county area.” (CAC white paper)
One of those precious children who might have been lost to her horrific circumstances were it not for CAC, was a little girl named Ann (name changed). She was only 7 years old at the time, and, looking back, her mom saw the signs, but for a while couldn’t bring herself to believe them. Stacey (not her real name) had been abused, too, many years before, so when she noticed her daughter, Ann, not wanting to take showers, and wetting the bed again, she knew. There were other signs as well, such as Stacey’s boyfriend wanting to spend more time alone with her daughter, so finally Stacey called the authorities.
After the police brought in Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center to do an interview of her little girl, both Ann and Stacey were placed in therapy that very day. And over the course of the next 5 years, CAC has been right there walking with them. Both mom and daughter were placed in one-on-one therapy for a period of time in order to better assist them with resolving the effects of the trauma. Presently, they’re in group therapy, and at a point in their recovery where they can encourage others.
Stacey remembers their victim advocate helping in so many ways, like setting up day care for her children, moving them to a safe place, and counseling Ann through what would happen in court. The Kid’s Court program was instrumental in helping Ann understand courtroom terminology and procedures, and reducing her stress level, thus making it easier for her to testify in court so that her abuser would be prosecuted and taken off the streets before he could hurt another child.
The CAC has grown since its inception in 2000, and now coordinates their services through different entities under the CAC umbrella. These entities include:
The Child Protection Team
The Sexual Abuse Treatment Program
The Gulf Coast Sexual Assault Program
Family Advocacy
Kid’s Court
The Department of Children and Families
Local law enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office
With CAC working in tandem with local law enforcement and the State Attorney’s office, much progress has been made in the way abuse victims are now treated. Starting with the way law enforcement questions the victim, to the way attorneys handle their cases, and to how the victims are treated in a courtroom. Because the child and their families are already traumatized, CAC works to minimize any additional emotional damage.
Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center’s purpose states it this way: “CAC operates on the fundamental belief that the best interests of the victim should be protected. Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center provides a compassionate alternative to traditional investigations.”
In 2016 there were a total of 4,829 reports of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, with over 1,939 of those children provided some type of service by CAC. The percentages are staggering for our area: “37% were alleged victims of sexual abuse, 32% physical abuse, 12% witness to violence, 15% drug endangered, 7% from other maltreatments such as mental injury.”
How can we stop this, you want to know? There are many ways. The CAC provides our local schools with child abuse prevention materials, and since January of this year more than 60 children have come forward, disclosing some form of abuse. In addition, the CAC partners with businesses and conducts fundraisers to raise awareness and to provide much needed funding. They also have monthly open houses at their facilities in Panama City, and encourage local residents to discover for themselves the tremendous work being done for our children.
You can find out more about the CAC by visiting their website at: www.gulfcoastcac.org, or their Facebook page at Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center Events.
For Ann and Stacey, and countless more, the free assistance they’ve received over the years has made the difference in their lives between basic survival and thriving. Ann is a testament to the healing power of the CAC’s assistance, and she has become an advocate herself, by speaking openly at her school assembly, and requesting her school hand out teal ribbons to bring awareness, in the hopes that children in the future will be spared what she had to endure.
If you suspect a child is being victimized or abused, please call the hotline at: 1-800-96-ABUSE. You might just save a life.
