Category: Community

Cherish a Child Luncheon

By Theresa Hart. Development Director for The Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County

Each year the Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County hosts a fundraising luncheon. During these luncheons, guests will receive an update from Tammi Pitzen, CAC Executive Director, about what’s happened at the CAC in the last year.

They will also hear the story of a survivor and how each person can help the children we serve.

On October 12th from 12 noon – 1 pm, the CAC will host its 11th Annual Cherish a Child Luncheon at Inn at the Commons. It is our second largest fundraising event.

I love the luncheon as it provides a look into what we do and inspires people to make a difference in a child’s life. The event is only one hour and lunch is provided. We ask attendees to give what will satisfy their hearts. Attendees may give a one-time gift or a sustaining gift over the next 12 months.

The theme of this year’s fundraising luncheon is Planting a Seed.

Attendees will learn how the work we do is planting seeds of healing in the lives of abused children and their families. They will learn about our community partners who are planting seeds of healing and how they too can plant seeds of healing in our community.

By giving to the CAC, you are planting seeds of healing in a child’s life.

I’m excited to share that this year’s survivor story will focus on how the seeds of healing were planted in the heart of the mother of an abused child thirty years ago. It is a truly inspiring story that you won’t want to miss.

What we know is that when an intervention is timely, a child can heal from the abuse and grow up to lead a healthy and fulfilling life. We also know that the families of these victims also have needs. When those families are helped, they will provide a healthy and safe environment for their child to heal.

Our newly formed Family Support Team provides advocacy and services to the families of victims. Sometimes when a child comes to our Intake Center, their only possessions are the clothes on their backs. That child’s parent may have had to leave their home, and they may have no place to go.

Because of the generosity of donors, there is a clothes closet where our Family Support Team may pull out an outfit or two for that child. We work with community partners like ACCESS, where there is food available for the family. If they need additional clothing or other items to set up their new home, we will give them a Goodwill Industries voucher to purchase items from one of their stores. We work with other agencies to help these families.

We are truly grateful for the community partners doing great work to help these families.

The CAC is a place where children can come to tell the story of their abuse in a loving environment that feels like a home. If they have been injured, they will receive a medical evaluation by a specially trained medical provider. These head-to-toe evaluations can take two hours or more to perform. During that time, evidence is collected and other medical needs are assessed. Our medical providers give referrals so those additional needs may be addressed. Some of these children have not seen a doctor since they were born. They also provide assurance to these children that their bodies will heal. These children may also receive a therapy assessment to determine their needs.

We offer short- and long-term therapy as well as specialized therapy groups for the victims. There is also a Parent Group where the non-offending parent may learn how to care for a child that has been through trauma. The CAC is a place of healing. Your gift will plant seeds of healing and recovery in an abused child’s life. Your gift will help those families to provide a safe and healthy environment for their child to heal.

Your gift also plants seeds of healing in our community. We partner with The Ford Family Foundation to provide PROTECT OUR CHILDREN child sexual abuse prevention training where adults learn to identify the signs of abuse and are given tools to intervene and to prevent child abuse from happening. During the last two years, we have trained 1100 people Jackson County. We offer monthly trainings at the Medford Library as well as provide trainings at schools, agencies, churches and organizations that work with children. I would encourage anyone who has or works with children or youth to take this training.

We work closely with community partners who specialize in child abuse. We assist them in planting seeds of healing in the community. We work closely with the Department of Human Services-Child Protection Division (DHS), law enforcement, CASA, Family Nurturing Center, Community Works, the District Attorney’s Office and many more to help in the identification, intervention, prevention, and prosecution of child abuse cases in Jackson County.

Be inspired. Attend the 11th Annual Cherish A Child Luncheon Thursday, October 12 from 12pm – 1pm at the Inn At the Commons.

Register for the luncheon and make a gift to the Children’s Advocacy Center. While we do not charge for the luncheon, you will be asked to give a donation of either a one time or sustaining gift to help abused children. Registration is required.

You may register online at: http://cacjc.org/cherish-a-child-luncheon/or by calling 541-734-5437 at extension 1011.

Thank you for all you do to plant seeds of healing in the life of children. We are grateful for your ongoing support of abused children in our community. We hope that you will join us at the Cherish a Child Luncheon on October 12th.
It takes a Community Response

Diode Laser Concepts volunteers assemble our new train table

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

Many of you have heard me say that child abuse is a community problem that deserves a community response. I actually say and write that frequently. It did not originate with me, and I actually can’t tell you who said it first. What I can say is that it resonates with me.

I can also say that I see my community step up and be a part of the response every single day.

Every time, it makes me proud of the community I live in and every time, it makes me feel humbled and in awe of the generosity of this community. Every time, it makes me feel a little emotional that so many people care about the outcomes of the children we serve at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County.

Some of you right now are asking yourself, “What is a community response?”

A community response is a group of runners who donated proceeds from the Siskiyou Outback (or as it is known by its more irreverent name ‘the SOB’) to provide safety to staff and to the children and families we serve in the form of an updated security system. This is so needed and is one of those things people may not think about.

Erin, Rob, John and Susan—those who run the race—came for a tour and decided that the gift of safety and security was one that the children we serve and the staff who serves them deserve.

I went out to Mt. Ashland to watch some of the day’s activities and was moved by the runners who were cheering each runner who crossed the finish line. It made me wish that each child who visits the Center for services could see a finish line…and made me hope that they felt that same level of support when they crossed the threshold of the door of the Center. I was moved again when I hugged each of those people who made this gift possible.

This is a big deal. This is a community response. This is one way to make kids who have had safety ripped from their hands feel safe again.

Thank you is inadequate. But it is all I have. That and my undying gratitude that they recognize the work we do and value the service we provide. Not only do they value the service, but value those giving and receiving the service.

A community response is a young man named Milan who coordinates and facilitates a one-day soccer camp to benefit the Children’s Advocacy Center during the heat of early July. The soccer camp is free with a request of a donation to help the Center. This is an amazing camp that children from our community, both those who receive services from our agency and those from the general public, come together to learn social skills, to learn team building, to learn to play soccer, and to really just have fun. This all came about because a young man came on a tour and wanted to give something. His passion is soccer. He wanted to give his passion to the children of the Rogue Valley and to our agency in hopes of providing healing to the children who pass through our doors in need of compassion, safety, and healing.

A community response is Jeff Pevar, Inger Jorgensen and LOVEBITE playing a benefit concert at Grizzly Peak Winery to raise awareness about child abuse in our community and to raise money to help solve the problem. It was amazing to hear these talented musicians giving us their gift in an effort to make it possible to dream of a place where no child will ever feel unwanted, devalued, and minimized. A place where no child will suffer at the hands of another…where no child will bear the marks of abuse…where no child wears the hidden scars left by the trauma of abuse. A community response is a dance floor filled with people who came to support the cause and enjoy an evening listening to some really good music.

A community response is Dagoba Chocolate picking the Children’s Advocacy Center to do a service project to insure that children who need clothes in a time of crisis will have complete outfits put together with just them in mind.

A community response is Diode Laser Concepts who sends a small army once a month to take care of all of our “honey do’s”…which can be anything from cleaning out our gutters, getting spider webs off one of our buildings or putting together a new train table.

A community response is group of professionals from Banner Bank who painted offices as part of United Way’s Day of Caring.

A community response is a volunteer Board of Directors who shows up every month for meetings, who share their good fortune to support the programs we offer, who share their gifts with our agency…who provide guidance to an Executive Director whenever it is needed.

A community response is a volunteer Advisory Council who provides advice, connections, and support, so the children of our community have access to healing services.

I am humbled over and over again by the generosity of those who give their gifts to support the abused children who receive healing and recovery services from the Children’s Advocacy Center.

The ones written about in this blog are only the most recent. With each word typed, I am reminded of others who have given of themselves to help support our children. Perhaps they will be the inspiration for another blog.

Every gift counts. Every gift is valued. Every gift is precious. Every gift provides healing.

Today as I sit in my office working on grants, working on paying the bills, working on all the less glamorous things that are connected to running a nonprofit agency, I am so thankful.

I am thankful that I am surrounded by people in my community who see the unseen and rise to the challenge in a move to end child abuse. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to meet Rob, Susan, Erin, John, Milan, Jeff, Inger, Paul, Jacob, and Matthew.

I am thankful that I live in a place that when someone says, “Child abuse is a community problem that deserves a community response”…that the community responds.

Tammi Pitzen
Volunteers: The Heart of the Center

By Ginny Sagal, Communication & Outreach Coordinator for the Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County

It’s 9am and the Children’s Advocacy Center is open. Clients are coming in for a therapy session, therapy assessment, medical service, or forensic interview.

They are greeted by a CAC employee and many times by a volunteer.

This is a volunteer who has given their time and heart to help out at the Center. The volunteers who help out at the Children’s Advocacy Center are given a variety of tasks to do that are catered to their interest, skillset, and our client’s needs.

Many come to the Center to be with the children.

They play games, read stories, or just hang with them. Having kind and caring volunteers help out with the children makes the waiting sometimes not so scary. They also comfort the parents, who are sometimes just as scared and confused as the kids.

We have volunteers that also help with filing and keeping our closet, where we store extra clothing for our clients, organized. Some volunteers love to get involved in our once a year Winter Gala fundraiser that requires many hours of their time.

Once a week in the evening, we have a special parent therapy group that is totally run by the volunteers and facilitated by one of our therapists. The volunteers make dinner for the kids and parents. While the parents are in the group session with the therapist, the volunteers play games and make crafts with the kids. When the session is done, these dedicated volunteers stay to help clean up.

Our volunteers come from all walks of life.

We have some that are students who are working on college credits that pertain to social service and criminal justice work. There are companies that come to the Center as a team to help us out on a project. Many are retirees that have chosen our Center to help out in the next phase of their lives.

The Children’s Advocacy Center has a child sexual abuse prevention training that is done by volunteers. This program is called the “Protect our Children, Darkness to Light, Stewards of Children” training.

Being a volunteer at the Children’s Advocacy Center is like being part of a big family. Like most families, some days are easier than others, but the devotion and love that our volunteers give to our Center and our clients makes every day a special one.

There is always room for more volunteers. Please let us know if you have a place in your heart to help children and their families. We can set up a time to for tour and talk about how they want to help the abused children and their families at the Center. Contact Ginny Sagal at vsagal@cacjc.org or call her at 541 282 5474.

Ginny Sagal
“Jayden” benefits from the Caring for Kids Campaign

By Theresa Hart, Development Director for the Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County

In March, we created three stories of children who have received services in our Medical Department for our Caring for Kids Campaign. These stories were based on real life experiences of children who had received services in our Medical Department. The details of their experiences were altered to protect their identities.

“Jayden’s” story touched me very deeply.

“Jayden” suffered sexual abuse by her mother’s boyfriend. She and her mother were brought to the Children’s Advocacy Center after her mother found her 13-year-old daughter inconsolable upon her return home.

After disclosing the abuse at the Center, Jayden was brought to our Medical Department where she received a head to toe evaluation. Additionally, our in-house pediatrician administered a test for sexually transmitted infections and a pregnancy test. When she left the Center that day, Jayden carried with her a quilt and the assurance that she was healthy and that her body would be okay. Jayden is receiving therapy at the Center and her mother is in treatment for substance abuse.

Jayden was fortunate to have come to the Children’s Advocacy Center where she could receive our specialized medical services, tell the story of her abuse and receive therapy in one child-focused center.

There are many children who have experienced abuse and neglect in the Rogue Valley. The CAC is the only place of its kind In Jackson County. Last year, Jayden was the recipient of one of the more than 200 medical services performed by our Medical Department.

Jayden suffered the kind of abuse we don’t like to talk about.

But here’s the thing, child abuse is a community problem, and it requires a community response. CAC’s partners were involved throughout her story, from law enforcement, DHS, community members, businesses, and other local organizations. The quilt Jayden took home was made by a local church group.

Community members and businesses can partner with us during the Caring for Kids Campaign to support our Medical Department services. These donations go to pay medical staff salaries, equipment, and supplies.

We are recruiting a nurse practitioner to perform additional medical evaluations and services to extend our Medical Department hours to 40 per week. Now more than ever we need community partnerships and support to help us continue our work with abused children.

There’s still time to partner with us during the Caring for Kids campaign. The deadline to make a donation is June 30. To make a difference in a life of other child victims, send your donation to 816 W. 10th Street, Medford, OR 97501.

Thank you.

Theresa Hart
Change for Children: Our 3 Agency Collaborative Brainchild
By Jennifer Mylenek, Executive Director of CASA of Jackson and Josephine Counties

The month of April represents Child Abuse Awareness, which helps shine a spotlight on the tragic circumstances of hundreds of thousands of abused and/or neglected children in the U.S. It is also a month in which I’m honored to be a part of a rich collaborative of child-serving agencies that have joined together to raise awareness and funds to support our strong linkage of services provided to abused children in Jackson County.

The Children’s Advocacy Center, CASA of Jackson County, and The Family Nurturing Center are three cornerstone non-profit agencies that support the needs of marginalized, abused, and/or neglected children in various ways with the common goal of ensuring every child can be safe from harm, thrive in a stable/loving home, have equal educational opportunities, and heal from abuse.

The three agencies are led by strong and experienced Executive Directors who realized that together, we can do much more for our children.

Working across agencies has always been our practice when we have shared child clients, but April brought us together in a bigger way. The subject of child abuse awareness is challenging to promote. Most people would rather turn away than accept that it is going on in our county in an epidemic-like fashion.

We knew we could raise more awareness with the larger footprint of our three agencies shining a coordinated light.

Change for Children was our brainchild and began last April in a small way. Today we have seen a significant surge in community support and with our combined staff pitching in to raise the flag on child abuse, much is getting done. Not to mention we found we all work really well together!

I think you’ll agree that recognizing there’s a problem is the first step toward solving the problem, but stepping in to be part of the solution will lift your spirits to new heights, I guarantee it.
- You can help by simply eating out at the establishments supporting us below
- You can volunteer at one or more of our three agencies: CAC, CASA, Family Nurturing Center
- You can sign up for the PROTECT OUR CHILDREN training to learn how to prevent child abuse
- You can look into becoming a foster parent
- You can thank our thoughtful sponsors by supporting their businesses
- You can text C4C to 71777 to make a donation which will be shared by our three agencies
If you’re already helping a child or children in some way, thank you.

There is no greater gift than to see a smile on a child’s face or to know you made a positive difference in their life.
It’s 32 Degrees and this Child is Wearing Flip Flops

By Ginny Sagal, Communication & Outreach Coordinator, The Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County

When I was working at the schools teaching science, I saw a lot: Watching when the seasons changed who was wearing flip flops when the temperature was 32 degrees. Which child would come to school without a jacket and wearing shorts and a short sleeve t-shirt? I was watching for the ones who had no snack at recess time.   Who was the one child who was always losing his or her homework because he or she did not have a backpack?

It was very clear to me that I had a job as a teacher, advocate and protector of the children.

I had kids sometimes come up to me and ask me who was going to pick them up that day — I was also the bus lady – or at whose house were they going to stay for the weekend. Yes, they were given a breakfast and lunch at school provided by the school administration, but were they going to get dinner and where were they going to sleep at night?

The acting out in class sometimes would be the fear of the unknown or some dark secret they were keeping. I was their protector watching and observing them. I was able to give my supervisor the information they needed so that a child could get the help and services they needed and deserved.

At the CAC, I am a protector of the children by reaching out to others to get engaged in our efforts to prevent child abuse.

This month is Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. Let’s all be protectors of the children. Let’s all remember that:

·        ALL CHILDREN NEED TO BE PROTECTED

·        ALL CHILDREN NEED FOOD AND SHELTER

·        ALL CHILDREN NEED KIND AND UNDERSTANDING ADULTS IN THEIR LIVES

For more about April’s Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month and local activities, visit: http://cacjc.org/child-abuse-prevention-month/
2017 Winter Gala: An Evening on Broadway

By Theresa Hart, Development Director for The Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County

It was a night to remember as people gathered from near and far for An Evening on Broadway. Attendees arrived in Broadway costume, formal or casual attire to raise money for children. Even the Tin Man showed up for some fun.

In the beautiful setting of the Rogue Valley Country Club, more than 250 persons enjoyed singing On Broadway and bidding on silent and oral auction items generously donated by local businesses and friends throughout the Rogue Valley.

The Broadway theme was carried through to a bright Marquee and photo booth where guests posed for pictures. Grease Lightning was also well represented.

The Opening Act – The Children’s Advocacy Center Bear – was auctioned off twice. The nearly famous CAC Puppy went to a good home again this year. The fun didn’t end there. Oral and silent auction items included trips, entertainment and wine packages. There were also some unique items and a 50/50 raffle.

We are so grateful to the more than 30 volunteers who contributed countless hours to make the event a huge success.

Thanks to all of our sponsors and donors for your generous donations and partnering with us to work towards communities where children are safe, families are strong, and our child victims become children again.

View our Facebook Album for pictures from Gala 2017!
Philanthropy Should Be at the Heart of All Local Businesses

By Renae Dixon, KeyBank

At KeyBank, we have one overall goal: to help our clients and communities thrive. While we have a laser focus on financial wellness, we realize the benefit of a holistic approach to well-being and are always looking for ways to be involved in the communities where we live and work.

That is why the mission of one of our clients, CACJC, is so important to us. As they support the most vulnerable in our society, we are proud to support them in any way we can, including financial support.

We have always been aware of the excellent work they do in the community and are proud to support their goals. For the past two years, we have presented a gift to the organization at our invitation-only event on the eve of the annual Southern Oregon Business Conference. That evening we were proud and pleased to showcase CACJC and raise visibility for its work on behalf of children in the presence of an audience of prospective supporters and donors.

Philanthropy is part of KeyBank’s DNA and we have been nationally recognized for improving the quality of life in our communities. The Civic 50 identifies the top 50 S&P 500 corporations in the U.S. in terms of time, talent and resources used to improve the quality of life in their communities. Key was named to the most recent Civic 50 list as one of America’s 50 most community-minded companies by the National Conference on Citizenship and Points of Light.

The KeyBank Foundation works hard all year long to connect closely with nonprofit partners that will have a transformative impact on our communities, and our employees’ engagement in volunteerism and personal philanthropy is a source of pride for us all.

We’re certainly not alone in our commitment to improving the quality of life in our communities. According to Giving USA, corporations donated $18.45 billion in 2016. That’s a great deal of money. But the needs are always greater.

Will you join the movement? If you have the chance to initiate a program of volunteering or donating at your business, I encourage you to do so. Being a good neighbor and helping our community allows all of us to thrive, together.

About the author: Renae Dixon is Senior Business Services Officer at KeyBank. She can be reached at 541-282-2372 or renae_a_dixon@keybank.com.
I am thankful for the generosity of this community

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

Thanksgiving

It is one of my favorite times of the year. I love fall. I love all that it represents. I think about fall being the time to go into our cocoon and come out in spring transformed. For me, it is also a time to be reflective of the blessings I have in my life.

I have just celebrated my three year anniversary at the CAC. Together we have done so much in those three years.

In this work, the average “life span” of an Executive Director in a CAC is about three years. At that point, people either move on to other work or they decide they will stay. I think that is because in the first year, you are learning the territory. You are learning your community. You are learning the nuances of the way the CAC operates in this community, with this team. While I have done this work for a really long time, it is never the same in any two communities.

In year two, you know what impact you want to make but are still trying to figure out a way to assimilate what you would like to do into a functioning team of professionals.

In year three you begin to execute your vision. Or you become so overwhelmed by the mountains of work required to keep all the cogs moving that you decide to move on instead of moving mountains.

I want to move mountains!

When I turned 21 and began this work, I had no idea that it would become my passion. When I say passion, I mean PASSION! It is hard to explain. Many people think about the children who are abused in our community and think…that is horrible. I, and those I work with, think about those same abused children and our reaction is to work to change their world.

I am not alone in my passion. I see it every Wednesday afternoon when I attend our Multi-disciplinary team meeting.

I look at the faces of the professionals assembled in that room and know that I am with “my people”. I spend very little, if any time with these people outside of the small room upstairs in the Children’s Advocacy Center. I know most by name.

But here today, in this moment, during this time of thankfulness I count that team as one of the top ten things I am most thankful for.

In the spirit of naming my blessings here are the things I am most thankful for this year:

1)     I am so thankful for my family. The one I was born into, the one I married into and the one I have created along the way since my childhood. My husband is so supportive and has joined me in my concern for children who are abused, unwanted, or otherwise uncared for. We are teaching our son to take care of those more vulnerable.

2)     I am thankful for the mentors who have guided and helped me learn the skills I need to work in this wonderful movement (the CAC movement) and in the field of child abuse. There have been many along the way. Some are no longer living. Most are separated from me by miles.

3)     I am thankful for the search committee who saw something in me that led them to believe that I could be the leader of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County.

4)     I am thankful for the multi-disciplinary team members that I get to work with every day. These people are fantastic. Literally, every day, quietly they are saving lives and changing the world. I am so lucky to be able to see these things happening. Most people take it for granted.

5)     I am thankful for the staff and contract professionals that I have the honor of working with every day. They are absolutely some of the best people in this field and I cannot imagine taking this journey without them on my team.   They are brilliant and compassionate. They make me look good every day! Who wouldn’t want that in their life?

6)     I am thankful for the most impressive Board of Directors that I have ever had the privilege of working with and for. This community is so lucky to have them.

7)     I am thankful for the generosity of this community and the support they have always given the Children’s Advocacy Center.

8)     I am thankful for the network of Executive Directors that I get to work with and learn from. This would be so hard without all of you!!! It is so fun to be able to share with you, collaborate with you, and make Jackson County an incredible place to live.

9)     I am thankful for the opportunity to witness strength, courage, and bravery that the young victims we serve at the CAC show every single day. It is an amazing thing.

10) I am thankful for a couple of women who many years ago allowed me to work outside of the box and empowered me to step into a leadership position in a CAC. They taught me a lot about grants, a lot about running programs, a lot about facilitating a team, working with Boards, and a bunch of other nonprofit “stuff”. My first Executive Director, Janet Buss and my second Executive Director, Teresa Huizar, taught me everything I know about CAC’s and nonprofit management. I am uncertain what you both saw in me that made you want to invest in me but I am so thankful you did.

I challenge each of you to come up with your own list of thankfulness!

My wish for each of you is that you will know your value, know your strengths, and find peace and serenity that will carry you through.

Tammi Pitzen
Police Chief O’Meara: Why CAC Matters

Post by Tighe O’Meara – Ashland, Oregon Police Chief

I am going to start off on a dark note, but a real note, and one that needs to be recognized.

1 in 10 children are reported to be sexual assault victims. But let’s go ahead and make it worse, because this doesn’t account for the ones that don’t get reported; this doesn’t account for the ones that make it to a family member’s attention but it doesn’t go any further than that. And this doesn’t account for the fact that society puts different pressures on boys than it does girls, so boys feel like they have to carry the burden, silently, allowing it to traumatize them over and over, and allowing the trauma to have a profound impact on the rest of their lives.

We know that sex assaults are under-reported, across the board, at all levels, for many reasons. And grossly under-reported at that. With children it is no different, so if we know about 1 in 10, we can safely assume that the problem is much worse than the 1 in 10 figure. And, that number does not include the child victimizations we have that are physical, non-sexual assaults in nature. Add in the physical abuse victims and the numbers are even more alarming.

These are dark numbers, troubling statistics, and they are not likely to change anytime soon. We have no ability to have significant control over these numbers, and likely won’t for the foreseeable future.

I have been chief of police in Ashland for about a year and a half now. I have learned a few lessons, and have much more to learn. One of the things that I first learned, after months and months of stressing out over everything, is that bad stuff happens. There is no getting around it, people are going to get victimized. And this includes children.

And while it is important to do everything we can to prevent, just as important is how we respond when it happens, because it is inevitable that it’s going to happen, and we will never eradicate it, not anytime soon anyway.

So I slowly realized that just as important as trying to prevent crime, is trying to respond to it in the manner that is best for the victim, best for those close to the victim, and best for the community.

A couple of quotes I like that say this well:

“It’s not the failures that define us so much as how we respond” ~ Shane Parrish

“What defines us is how well we rise after falling”

We don’t have the control we want over these incidents to prevent them from happening, so we need to make sure we respond to them well, and this is where the Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County shines a bright light on the dark numbers I mentioned. This is where the women and men of the CAC step in and offer national best practices for the Jackson County community.

Jackson County is great for team work.

No agency in Jackson County is big enough to go it alone, we all need each others help. And perhaps nowhere does this present itself more than with child victims. We are lucky to have this partnership in Jackson County, and we are fortunate to have a set game plan, county wide, for how we are all going to respond to these troubling complaints.

Violence against children is after all a community-wide problem, and community-wide, county-wide, all of the police are on the same page on how to handle it, and we can offer this only because of the dedicated experts we have working out of the Children’s Advocacy Center.

This should give all of us, all members of the community, some the peace of mind. Peace of mind in knowing that while we can’t (unfortunately) stop these horrific things from happening, what we can do is come together and embrace national best practices.

We can come together and make sure the child victims are not traumatized again over the same situation.We can come together and set up a program and a plan for the victim and the non-offending family members to move past the incident to a better place, both physically and emotionally. This is what CAC brings to our community.

The police officers in our community want to be there for all members of the community who need us. We want to be there when someone calls and says “I’m in trouble.” And, we will be, we will answer the call and respond to help all who ask for our help.

But, we can’t be everything to every person, and we can’t provide the level of work that our most vulnerable community members need, that is the importance of the CAC and the dedicated women and men that work there.

When we become aware that one of little ones needs help, we all want to spring into action, and we do. In our police departments we have trained and dedicated officers that are there to be a part of that process, but we simply can’t offer these kids and these families what they need, and without the CAC, we would be pretty lost.

For that matter, we can’t offer ourselves what WE need to move a criminal case forward, without the help of the CAC, because they provide us with the right facilities and atmosphere to get the evidence we need to bring a case to the DA’s office.

Do you know what the CAC looks like?

It’s like coming into your own home, it’s like visiting grandma – there’s your toys over in the corner, there’s the friendly loving face waiting to greet you. Take the CAC out of the picture and you’re trading that comfortable at-home feeling for the cold sterility of a police station. You’re taking away that level of comfort and replacing it with a hospital visit for the medical exam. You take away a short visit, in what feels like your family dining room, for grand jury and replacing it with a trip to the DA’s office.

The model employed by the CAC, the model that allows for all services to be provided under one roof, from initial assessment, interview, medical exam and follow up counseling for victims and non-offending parents, saves about $1,000 on each case that is brought forward.

Without this model we would have to try to piece these services together, further traumatizing not the just the child victim, but also the already stressed and traumatized parent who is trying to struggle through these incidents.

We are truly fortunate to have this facility and these people, working there, every day, bringing compassion, comfort and healing to the survivors, and the families. Helping not just the families move through these difficult situations but, while doing so, supporting the law enforcement mission to hold the offenders responsible.

The numbers quoted at the beginning of this post are troubling indeed, but our partnership, county-wide, with the CAC of Jackson County, shines a light on that dark problem, and helps us all get through it to a place that’s a little bit better.

So what can you do to help?

Take the child sexual abuse training offered by the CAC.

Tell your friends and family about the CAC, spread the word about the CAC’s mission and the important, invaluable work that is done there every day. Encourage your friends and family to take the training and to help out.

Keeping in mind the quote that I offered before: “What defines us is not that we fall but it is how well we rise after falling.”

I will close with this:

The CAC is a shining example, of a community coming together to rise, everyday, time after time, after falling down, one child victim at a time. That’s why the CAC is so important, and that’s why we need to support it.

Tighe O’Meara, Ashland, Oregon Police Chief