Susie's Place, Author at Susie's Place - Avon, Bloomington, Terre Haute

Susie’s Place needs new home

By Brenda L. Holmes, The Flyer Group AVON — Steady growth and current facility limitations has forced the board of directors for Susie’s Place to look for a new home for its Avon operations. The board is asking the community for help in finding a new home to continue to serve the children of Central Indiana. Susie’s Place is the child advocacy center in Hendricks County and is staffed with trained forensic interviews that assist law enforcement and Child Protective Services by providing a child-friendly place to interview children who have experienced some sort of abuse or trauma. “We have outgrown our 1,500 square foot facility,” said Emily Perry, executive director of Susie’s Place. “I like our location; it’s just time for us to make a move to a larger space to fully accommodate our needs.” Susie’s Place celebrated its grand opening in 2009 and completed 195 interviews for children of various ages that first year. In 2010, the number more than doubled to 429 cases and children were referred from 14 counties in Indiana. Continue reading at The Flyer Group…

“Justice in our Communities” Training to be Held in Bloomington

Bloomington, IN – In recent weeks, allegations and discussions of child sexual abuse have filled the headlines. It is easy to feel powerless and overwhelmed. It is harder to turn our anger and frustration into positive action for child victims. On December 13-15, 2011, Susie’s Place Child Advocacy Center, in partnership with The National District Attorney’s Association – National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse, National Child Protection Training Center, Midwest Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, and Indiana Chapter of National Children’s Alliance will host a free three day training at the Bloomington Monroe County Convention Center for over 150 professionals responsible for the investigation, prosecution, and treatment of alleged child victims of crime. “To be chosen by the National District Attorney’s Association (NDAA) and Midwest Regional Children’s Advocacy Center to host a training of this magnitude and quality speaks volumes about the good work being done in Monroe County to strengthen the community’s ability to protect it’s children,” says Emily Perry, Executive Director of Susie’s Place ChildAdvocacy Center. With a mission of providing a neutral, child-friendly center for the investigation of alleged child abuse and neglect, while maintaining the comfort and safety of the child as its first priority, Susie’s Place Child Advocacy Center opened its doors in Bloomington in March, 2011. Since that time Susie’s Place has …

Susie’s Place Executive Director reflects on recent child abuse headlines in Indiana

AVON — With child sexual abuse beginning to dominate national headlines, local child advocates have decided to take the opportunity to educate. “We were getting calls from the media and decided that this really is a teachable moment,” said Emily Perry, executive director of Susie’s Place, Hendricks County’s child advocacy center. Susie’s Place opened its doors in Avon in April 2009 to provide a neutral, child-friendly center for the investigation of alleged child abuse. The Avon center also serves Boone, Putnam, Morgan, and Montgomery counties. In April of this year, Susie’s Place opened a second center in Bloomington to serve Monroe, Brown, Lawrence, Greene, and Owen counties. Continue reading at The Flyer Group

Donation gives boost to Susie’s Place board member

Most people I come into contact with know that I am a board member for Susie’s Place, Hendricks County’s Child Advocacy Center. Susie’s Place is a child-friendly environment where children can be interviewed by trained forensic interviewers to find out if there has been any abuse. The idea is to minimize the trauma the children endure by having each child tell their story only one time. Law enforcement, along with representatives from children’s services and the prosecutor’s office, can see and hear the interview while it is going on and speak to the interviewers discretely through an ear piece to make sure all of their questions get answered. Many of the cases that come to Susie’s Place involve child sexual abuse. It all sounds scary to me. Can you imagine what those children are feeling? Continue reading at The Flyer Group

Ameriana Bank Makes Charitable Giving Easier

Many of our loyal contributors want to support us even though they have fewer dollars to give. That is why Ameriana Bank created its Make a Difference Charitable Giving Program – to help our supporters make contributions they might otherwise be unable to make. For each person who opens an Ameriana checking account with a Visa Check Card®, Ameriana will make a $25 donation on their behalf to Susie’s Place and will give them $25 as a thank you. Plus, each and every time that person refers a friend or family member to open a new Ameriana checking account, Ameriana will donate $25 on each of their behalves to Susie’s Place and give them and their friend or family member $25 each. Stop into any Ameriana banking center to get involved or visit their website.

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