TRAVERSE CITY -- Some family fun Saturday morning will help other families in pain.
The Cycle for Solutions Family Fun Ride has a dual mission: bring awareness to child abuse and raise money for the proposed Traverse Bay Children's Advocacy Center.
Scheduled for Saturday morning at Darrow Park, the ride will take participants out the Leelanau Trail to the DeYoung Natural Area and back, a distance of 18 kilometers. Volunteers along the trail and at Darrow Park will provide refreshments and a range of activities.
Barb Russell, of Traverse City, conceived of the ride and hopes it becomes a Traverse City annual tradition. A survivor of childhood abuse herself, she joined the board of the Tri County Coalition for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (TCCPCAN) about two years ago. With a major effort under way to create a local Children's Advocacy Center, the ride provided another way for her way to contribute.
"My primary motivation is that I think we need to heal future generations," Russell said. "I was a severe child abuse victim myself and have had all kinds of healing but it's taken a long time. I think it's my responsibility to make the world a better place for today's children."
With a goal to open by the new year, the Traverse Bay Children's Advocacy Center will provide a multi-disciplinary approach to working with and helping an abused child. All agencies involved, from law enforcement to the Department of Human Services, from the prosecuting attorneys to counseling services, will be available in one location.
Noting that the nearest Child Advocacy Center is around Grand Rapids, director Pat Lewallen said that one serving this region will help an already traumatized child as well as families and the community. Participating jurisdictions will include Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. An invitation has been extended to Kalkaska County.
"Right now a child gets interviewed up to 15 different times," said Lewallen, contrasting current practices with an Advocacy Center's forensic setting, where multiple professionals can view an interview through a one-way glass, saving a child from repeated tellings of abuse.
Having a trained forensic interviewer following a protocol can also help build a case for prosecution that would put abusers in jail.
"Number one is the forensic interview," said Noelle Moeggenberg, assistant prosecuting attorney for Grand Traverse County, of the benefits of a Children's Advocacy Center.
While child sexual abuse is usually a conversation stopper, Grand Traverse County Sheriff's detective Dawn Wagoner is determined to bring the issue into the light. Wagoner is assigned to child sexual assault and child abuse cases for her department.
"Nobody wants to talk about it, it's kind of a taboo subject but it does occur with more frequency than people realize," said Wagoner, who serves on the TCCPCAN board.
By making the Traverse Bay Child Advocacy Center a child friendly place, with all services, exams, counseling and interviews conducted in one location, the ultimate beneficiary is the victim.
"They're already telling you something that is very difficult for them to tell you about and if you take away that sensitivity then it makes it even easier to talk," Wagoner said.
Cycle for Solutions will be held Saturday at Darrow Park, 1025 Bay St. in Traverse City. Registration is from 9-10 a.m. with the ride starting between 9:30-10 a.m. Fees are $25 per person and $35 per family; registrations are accepted in advance or the day of the ride.
For more information on the Tri County Coalition for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, call coordinator Linda Wood at 929-4166 or see www.tccpcan.com.
For more information on the proposed Traverse Bay Children's Advocacy Center, call director Pat Lewallen at 946-3746 or see www.traversebaycac.org.
Advocacy facts
-- Michigan has about 30 Children's Advocacy Centers, none north of Grand Rapids.
-- Nationwide, 435 accredited centers serve more than 175,000 children, more than a third of them younger than age six.
-- Grand Traverse/Leelanau area statistics for 2007 show officials investigated an estimated 775 cases of child sexual or physical abuse. Victims ranged in age from birth to 17.
-- The national Children's Advocacy Center's Web site estimates a 36 percent costs savings, on a case-by-case basis, for Child Advocacy Center investigations versus non-CAC investigations.
-- The benefits of a Child Advocacy Center include quicker follow-up to child abuse reports, more efficient medical and mental health referrals, fewer child interviews, more prosecutions and better support for victims and families.
Source: Tri County Coalition for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
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