“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
-Nelson Mandela
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and while the topic of child abuse may bring up feelings of fear, hope and healing can be found at the Barren River Area Child Advocacy Center (BRACAC). It is the mission of the BRACAC to reduce trauma to child abuse victims by providing a safe, child-friendly location where teams of professionals work together to pursue justice and offer treatment. The BRACAC offers victim advocacy and support, forensic interviews, medical examinations, mental health services, and community awareness. During the 2019 calendar year, the center provided services to 759 children ages 0-17 living in the ten-county Barren River area.
BRACAC works with children and non-offending caregivers to provide advocacy, support and empowerment following difficult, confusing and/or scary events. One of the ways we strive to empower individuals following traumatic experiences is through the use of evidence-based, trauma-specific therapeutic treatment. All of the models we utilize have been identified by the University of Kentucky Center on Trauma and Children as evidence-based treatment for the most frequently occurring types of trauma in Kentucky, which includes child maltreatment (abuse and neglect), and family and community violence. You may wonder what makes something evidence based. This lingo simply means that the treatment intervention being used has been rigorously tested in a controlled environment to ensure it consistently provides positive outcomes for the diagnosis specified. When an evidence-based treatment is provided with adherence to the treatment plan identified by the experts who have created and tested the treatment, consistent and timely results can be expected.
The BRACAC also partners with local schools, youth-serving organizations, churches, after-school programs, sports programs, and parent groups to provide child abuse prevention education. One in ten children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. This means education is critical. For adults, the Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children training is facilitated to raise awareness and teach how to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. The BRACAC also provides prevention education for children through a program called ROAR. This child-friendly, evidence-based program teaches children how to protect themselves from abuse.
Are you an individual who wants to make a difference in their community by helping the Child Advocacy Center? The center has two exciting fundraisers in which you can get involved: The Great Teddy Bear Run and Over the Edge.
Since 1999, motorcyclists have been taking a stand against child abuse during our annual Spring fundraiser, the Great Teddy Bear Run. Riders are escorted through the busy streets of Bowling Green on their motorcycles adorned with blue ribbons and teddy bears. Check out our website, www.bracac.org, for information about our plan for the Great Teddy Bear Run 2020.
Ready to show your courage, step up to the edge, and rappel down a building for children? Our second annual fundraiser, Over the Edge, is a unique and thrilling experience! 92 individuals have the opportunity to raise $1,000 or more to rappel five stories down Stadium Park Plaza. Helping the Center this way, climbing down these five stories, can help change the stories of children who have experienced child sexual abuse in our community. You can register TODAY and begin fundraising by visiting give.classy.org/OTE20.
The trauma and impact of sexual abuse can be devastating to a child. But by working together at the BRACAC, children and families receive quality services in a trauma-informed environment to stop abuse, begin the healing process and enhance the prosecution of offenders of this horrific crime against children. If you would like to help by making a donation or by participating in our fundraisers, give us a call at 270-783-4357 or visit www.bracac.org for more information.
-by Heather Webb and Anna D’Herde
About the Authors: Heather Webb is Clinical Director of BRACAC and Anna D’Herde is the Community Educator of BRACAC.
