The Children's Advocacy Center of Jackson County

Category: Staff

  • SOU volunteer reflects on her experience at CAC

    SOU volunteer reflects on her experience at CAC

    My name is Cydney Reid and I am a volunteer at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County. I am currently a senior at Southern Oregon University studying psychology and sociology.

    I first heard about the Children’s Advocacy Center through a friend who was already volunteering at the CAC. My friend had always expressed how she enjoyed volunteering at the CAC and really appreciated what she was learning.

    For my senior project, I decided to commit to volunteering at the CAC for at least 100 hours during my winter term.

    When I first began at the Children’s Advocacy Center, I only knew that they helped children and teens who have suffered from abuse. As I continued volunteering, I learned about the other wonderful things that the CAC has to offer. The CAC has toothpaste/toothbrush bags that are given to clients, they have a wide selection of gently used clothing to give out to those in need, and they have hundreds of teddy bears and stuffed animals that are waiting for a loving home.

    The CAC offers a wide variety of services to those in need and will work hard to help in every way that they can.

    The CAC is staffed by a variety of people ranging from intake and therapy to development and outreach. Each person that I have met at the CAC is extremely caring and passionate about what they are doing.

    It is wonderful to be surrounded by people who love their jobs and are dedicated to the CAC.

    I have only been a volunteer at the CAC for a little over a month and I have thoroughly enjoyed the time that I have spent here. I look forward to the next few months and seeing more of the amazing things that they do.

    Cydney Reid
    Cydney Reid

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • The Cost of Even Keel

    This is a post by Leah Howell, M.S., Training Coordinator for Protect Our Children Child Abuse Prevention Training of Jackson County, Oregon

    A few years ago when my son was around 4 months old, we were concerned about his weight, so I did a Google Images search on what a typical 4 month old should look like.

    I found a picture of a baby who could have been my son’s twin, and was born within weeks of my son. Out of curiosity, I clicked on the image and then the accompanying article. It was the story of a baby boy who had been repeatedly beaten, but each time was sent back home to his parents. At four months old he died at the hands of his father. To this day, when I think of that little boy, who deserved nothing but unbounded love, I feel deep, almost overwhelming sadness.

    These strong feelings have significance to me because I have a 3 year old boy whose emotions seem to fluctuate between unprecedented elation and severe emotional distress from moment to moment.

    My reaction to this roller-coaster of expression is to become “The Stabilizer.” I am the adult, after all. I am the person who needs to remain emotionally impervious to the tragedy of the minute, and offer some rational thought or feelings that balance his “crazy-makin’.” My son responds surprisingly well to most of my rational input-even at his age (you can give my husband all the credit for those genes).

    Though I know “The Stabilizer” to be a necessary role currently with my three year old, I find that this function has morphed, and has begun to seep into me in a more personal way.

    I find that it is my “go to” survival technique. When life gets stressful or overwhelming, I am the one who keeps the ship moving and minimizes any rocking – emotional or otherwise. Recently, I have sensed myself unwilling to contend with my own complicated emotions. Instead of feeling them, I choose to stuff them, then rationalize my way out of dealing with them.

    I sometimes wonder how damaging this survival technique is. Used too often, this practice could keep me from focusing on the things that really matter – both in my family and community.

    After all, allowing yourself to feel deeply is most often what compels a person to change or take decisive action.

    Well known to most people, child abuse (and especially child sexual abuse) has been allowed to continue under the noses of many who would be outraged that it was occurring. But when adults in proximity were faced with this possibility, they perceived this truth as too devastating to them, and they took no action.

    When I consider these tragic situations, I realize that I cannot continue as “The Stabilizer” for much longer, and still be the responsive parent I need to be. I acknowledge that the best protection I can provide to my son is to possess the will and courage to face the realities of life, (no matter how painful they may be) and walk alongside him through them- hand in hand.

    The cost of even keel blog post
    Leah Howell

  • 12 things I learned in my first year as an Oregonian

    By Tammi Pitzen, Executive Director of The Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County

    Tammi and family

    Last week I celebrated my one year anniversary at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County — and my one year living in Oregon.

    I had never even visited Oregon prior to coming here for the job interview in September of 2013. It has been an interesting year. It has been a year of transition and culture shift. It has been a year of learning new things.

    Here are the top twelve things that I have learned, in no particular order:

    12. It does not rain here nearly as much as the rest of the world thinks. Native Oregonians do not own umbrellas. They have really cute rain boots. They have rain coats but no umbrellas.

    11. It gets way hot here. I am from Louisiana and I hear people say all the time, “At least it is a dry heat.” It really doesn’t matter. It IS HOT here. I was shocked to learn that it gets in triple digits in the summer time and stays that way for a few weeks.

    10. There are some of the best wineries in the country right here in Southern Oregon.

    9. The most generous people live in Oregon. I am floored by how much people here give to charity, give to their friends … in time, money and support. People here care deeply about their community members and they show that by the donating time, treasure and talent to causes they are passionate about.

    8. Oregon appreciates a soldier like no other place I have ever lived in or visited. This is evidenced by the great deals offered to a veteran from the State on everything from camping, hunting licenses, property tax breaks, fishing licenses — even on car registrations. The Home Depot here even has parking spots designated for Veterans. It is quite amazing.

    7. The people of Jackson County work together to solve issues. They see a problem. They convene a group. They get things done.

    6. When you live in Oregon, you are either a Duck or a Beaver. And you must choose carefully. It is an important decision. There is even a “civil war” once a year between the Ducks and the Beavers. It is serious business.

    5. Oregon has a lot of cultural experiences available. There is a strong community of artists residing in Southern Oregon. There are theatre experiences offered here that are not offered everywhere. The availability of these fantastic performances has made my “Bucket List” grow in length.

    4. Almost everyone in Oregon owns a RV or a boat or both. Always wanting to emerge ourselves in the local cultural, my husband and I bought an RV before we bought a house. We are looking forward to spending a lot of time in the wilderness.

    3. Children are important in Oregon. This is evidenced by the laws enacted to protect children and by the fact that the State sets aside money to train and support multidisciplinary teams who investigate child abuse.

    2. Oregon is not a state that wants to follow. It is a pioneer state and that is taken very seriously. The people in Oregon want to, and most times do, pave the way for others to follow.

    1. There is a sense of community here that I have not felt in other places I have lived. You can feel it in the schools. You can feel it in the churches. You can feel it walking down the street. This is a place that invites you to call it home.

    We are so happy to be here!