What’s so necessary about “more space”? Room to breathe matters.
The basics of a Child Advocacy Center doesn’t sound like it requires much to operate. A few comfy chairs, some discreet recording equipment, and a couple of meeting rooms and offices and work can get underway. Back in 2017 when we scoped out the current location for our Terre Haute center, this was all we needed. Up until last year, Terre Haute technically functioned as a “Satellite CAC” with the Avon location of Susie’s Place acting as the hub.
But Susie’s Place has grown in both depth and breadth of services in the past six years. In Terre Haute, and at our two other locations in Avon and Bloomington, we include Child and Family Advocacy professionals, more forensic interviewers, and an aggressive prevention program to teach adults and children how to prevent child abuse. These services need attention and space to meet demand not just from Vigo County, but neighboring counties, too.
More families come to Susie’s Place in Terre Haute and the resulting overlap of multiple families receiving our services can be a challenge for privacy and scheduling. Forensic interviews rarely wrap up neatly like a television drama – they take as long as they take. Each family is visiting Susie’s Place in the middle of a crisis, and safety, discretion and comfort are the keys to assisting families during this emotional and challenging time.
Additionally, Susie’s Place is looking to create space to assist in the healing of the reported child victims served. Space for a medical suite and mental health services is critical to ensuring that those wraparound services can be provided to all families.
Work is underway on clearing out a new space for our Terre Haute Center. Our friends at Servpro are helping clear away debris, old cabinets and flooring, and unnecessary walls. This new building gives kids, families, and our staff a lot more privacy and room to breathe at a time they need it most.
Now through May 16, 2023 you can double your donation and help us double our space thanks to a matching grant from the Wabash Valley Community Foundation. Every dollar up to $35,000 will be matched, enabling us to cover construction costs.