5 minute read
Family Finds Hope at Wilco Children's Advocacy Center
by Charlotte Kovalchuk
Wilco Children's Advocacy Center Celebrates Building Expansion
Today, Abby is a high school senior who wants to become a criminal justice lawyer and advocate for sexual assault victims. Her sister Laney is in college planning to pursue a career in child psychology. Both believe they wouldn’t be who they are now without the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center (WCCAC).
Ten years ago, they found themselves at the advocacy center after Abby was sexually assaulted by her friend’s dad while she and Laney were playing at the friend’s house across the street. The WCCAC serves as the first stop for victims, providing everything from forensic interviews to medical exams, family advocacy, mental health counseling, and community education.
From the moment Abby and her family walked through the center’s doors, it felt like they were being welcomed into a safe haven. “The workers were so inviting and very friendly,” Abby says. “I felt very welcomed to share my story and my emotions.”
As part of that welcome, and as is the case for every victim, both girls got to choose one of the handmade blankets donated by local crocheters and quilters at the conclusion of their initial visit. Laney still has her quilt on her bed. “I think even being able to keep something that comes from a place that could remind me of a poor time in my life – I don’t have that memory attached to that blanket.”
GUIDING LIGHT
Through weekly counseling sessions at the center over the next two years, the sisters were given tools that helped them not only learn how to handle the challenge they were going through at the time, but any others they would face in life. “My kids might have been nervous before appointments but afterwards left with their heads high,” their mom Jennifer says. “They gave my girls a suit of armor and rebuilt them to believe in themselves.”
Abby and Laney had the chance to write their stories down, read them out loud, then burn them in what they describe as a freeing ceremony. A newly empowered Abby was adamant about taking her case to trial and sharing her story in court, even though her family could have accepted a plea deal. Abby’s therapist and others from the center were in the courtroom when she testified to make sure she was surrounded by familiar faces. “From day one, they were our first point of contact after the police department. They were with us every step of the way,” Jennifer says.
Her husband Tom calls the WCCAC “a guiding light in a very dark cave.”
They believe every county should have a children’s advocacy center, even more so since moving to an area in California without one. Tom adds, “It’s a freaking travesty that there isn’t more government and community support for CACs in every state. Given the challenges sexual abuse poses in all communities, CACs are just as important as a hospital.”
One reason there aren’t as many CACs as there should be, he says, is that people simply don’t want to talk about sexual assault. “It’s an absolute horror that our country refuses to recognize how regularly it happens. If society were more supportive in understanding the travesties this causes our society, there is so much more preventative work that can be learned. Kids are taught stranger danger but over 70 percent of victims are preyed on within their family’s circle or circle of influence. We learned the wrong thing. The CAC is the only one speaking the truth.”
WCCAC EXPANSION
In Fiscal Year 2023, the WCCAC conducted 917 forensic interviews, compared to 779 the previous year. With the growing need for services, the team celebrated the opening of their expanded building in Georgetown in early November, which will allow the center to provide more therapy services and accommodate more victims and their families. “Families never expect to wind up at our doors,” CEO Kerrie Stannell says. “We provide all of our services completely free. It’s such a place of hope and healing when they get there, so we’re thrilled we have this expanded space.”
BRIGHT FUTURES
Tom and Jennifer urge other victims and their families to seek help. “There shouldn’t be shame with asking for resources or having to share your story. There shouldn’t be any fear in that, of not being believed,” Jennifer says. “Without the center, I don’t know what the outcome would have been, for the girls individually or as a family. Because our daughters went to the counseling at the center with their therapist every week, they have been able to have amazing successes in life – educationally, in sports, even in friendships.”
Abby is currently applying to colleges and writing application essays on being an advocate for sexual assault survivors and researching how colleges can better help students who have experienced sexual assault. “When I get older, I want to be a criminal justice lawyer. [The Children’s Advocacy Center] has definitely given me a passion and I just want to be an advocate for the rest of my life and as much as I can be.”
Laney, on the other hand, wants to champion the opening of more children’s advocacy centers. “My passion and interest now are to see how I can give back to this organization by advocating for funding and building more centers. I know firsthand how they can help families and children. It breaks my heart to see only 795 in the U.S.”
She and her family were glad to hear about the WCCAC’s recent expansion. “We’re so excited that more services and therapists will be offered,” Jennifer says. “The fact that it’s a resource in Williamson County . . . You have no idea how lucky you are until you have to use it.”
1811 SE Inner Loop | Georgetown
