3358045

Expansion Complete for Council for Children

3358045

The very thought of children in our community being abused is an outrage to most of us. The statistics are scary when you consider that local victims range from infants and toddlers to children and teens, regardless of their socio-economic class or ethnic culture. With the numbers continuing to rise, the people tasked with handling the situation were increasingly concerned about the space crunch at their facility in Royalton Township. Fortunately that has all changed.

This evening, the team from Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce facilitated a first-class ribbon cutting and open house ceremony for the Berrien County Council for Children on M-139 in Royalton Township. The community stepped up to the plate for a $960,000 capital campaign to dramatically expand and modernize the facilities at 4938 Niles Road, which is actually the corner of M-139 and Marquette Woods Road, and were given the chance to tour the new expansion following the ribbon cutting this evening.

Dignitaries, staff and board members, the police community, and donors alike all were duly impressed by the addition and makeover which now makes the tough job considerably easier for everyone involved. 

The facility has many consultation rooms, meeting rooms, a much larger and more friendly reception area, and even a mock courtroom as shown above, to help acclimate child abuse victims to what they potentially face in cases where their testimony will be key to putting away perpetrators and others. 

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National studies show that 1-in-10 children will experience sexual abuse or exploitation before age 18 and the stats in our region are not much different. Child sexual abuse crosses all boundaries, there are no classes of people or cultures that are safe havens or exempt from occurrences. Staff members at the center say if there is any consistency, it's that the threat is rarely considered "stranger danger." In 90-percent of the reported instances, the child know and trusts the abuser.

Fortunately, the situation is not hopeless, as every day the team at the Berrien County Council for Children works to end abuse one child and one family at a time. The center uses compassionate and child-centered investigative interviews, therapy and forensic medical exams to provide a safe environment for the child to tell their story. Their services bring about healing through counseling, community awareness and prevention programming.

While the ribbon cutting took place today, the capital campaign continues having reached 75-percent of the goal. According to their website, they are in the middle of a challenge grant from Whirlpool, which will match any new donations received towards the campaign up to $100,000. Whirlpool also dispatched a team to install Gladiator GarageWorks products in multiple spaces in the building for a crisp, clean look to storage areas and the like. 

You can learn more about the organization and even donate to the campaign by clicking this link:

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