CAC to host flag raisings, luminaria event in upcoming month

March 28, 2023 | Dennis Hackett
dhackett@thereminder.com

A view of a previous luminaria display at Childs Park with Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY – Communities across Hampshire County will be partnering with CAC, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Hampshire County, to recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month with flag raisings and the This Little Light of Mine luminaria event.

Kara McElhone, CAC’s executive director, said she and her team work to “coordinate care for kids who have been physically and sexually abused, and sexually exploited here in Hampshire County,” by consolidating many of the necessary services under one roof.

“Folks come here to receive a coordinated response to those allegations and the model is one essentially where instead of having kids have to go to multiple places to tell what happened to them, the whole investigation team comes here,” she said.

When a child comes to the CAC, McElhone said they are met with investigators from the district attorney’s office, law enforcement, the Department of Children and Families if they are involved, as well as the CAC’s advocates, which includes a pediatric sexual assault nurse and a trauma counselor.

“We have a whole team of folks who work to help figure out what that child needs to heal from whatever’s happened to them,” McElhone added.

While the CAC has been around for 25 years, McElhone said they have been able “to amp up the services we have” over the past five years.

“Some of the things we can now provide are like our pediatric sexual assault nurse to provide exams here on site as well as we have free trauma counseling for kids who have experienced abuse and assault,” she said.

McElhone added that the cozier layout of the CAC’s Northampton location is by design to help children feel more comfortable.

“It’s here rather than having to go to some big, scary place. It’s in a house, it’s designed for kids, it’s designed to make kids feel more comfortable and safe,” she said.

According to McElhone, child abuse is an issue everywhere.

“No community doesn’t have issues of child abuse and assault,” McElhone added.

McElhone noted that one in four girls are sexually abused before they turn 18, one in six boys are sexually abused before they turn 18 and only one in 10 children tell anyone that something happened. In additional documentation provided to Reminder Publishing it was noted that one in five children are sexually solicited online.

While the number of people seeking the CAC’s services continues to grow, McElhone said she hopes that increase is because people are more comfortable reaching out for their services.

“We hope that we have more kids that feel safe to make those reports,” she said.

During the coronavirus pandemic, McElhone said the number of reports “plummeted,” and noted the importance of the CAC’s partnerships.

“We really rely on our partners in our education, the medical field and obviously law enforcement to be the first responders. The mandated reporters are key to keeping kids safe,” she said.

McElhone added that there are CACs across all the counties in Massachusetts and the Hampshire County one works with them to help children across the state find the support they need when recovering from any kind of abuse.

Someday McElhone said she hopes the CAC can “put ourselves out of business.”

Flag raising ceremonies

  • Amherst: April 3 at 2 p.m. at Town Hall located at 4 Boltwood Ave.
  • Easthampton: April 5 at 9 a.m. at City Hall located at 50 Payson Ave.
  • Ware: April 5 at 12 p.m. at Veteran’s Park at 29 Center St.
  • •Northampton: April 7 at 12 p.m. at the Police Department located at 29 Center St.
  • Hadley: April 7 at 2 p.m. at Town Hall, located at 100 Middle St.
  • South Hadley: April 10 at 9 a.m. at the Police Department, located at 41 Bridge St.
  • Belchertown: April 10 at 10:30 a.m. at Town Hall, located at 2 Jabish St.

While the flag raising has been off and on for years, with seven communities McElhone said this year will have the most of any year.

“We’re really fortunate we work very closely with [District Attorney David] Sullivan who will be attending most if not all of them, we’ll have first responders, local reps, senators and officials who all come out and want to show their support for the work we do to prevent and end child abuse,” she said.

McElhone said she was looking forward to spreading the word about their work at Ware’s flag raising.
“Ware is particularly challenging because it’s a long drive for families to get here and we are really excited to have a flag raising there, that’s our new one this year. We’re hoping to get more folks aware of our services from the eastern part of Hampshire County,” she said.

This Little Light of Mine

On April 6 at 5:30 p.m. the recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month culminates with the third This Little Light of Mine luminaria event at Childs Park in Northampton. During this ceremony McElhone said 2,400 luminarias will be lit, one for every child the CAC has worked with since it moved to its current Northampton location in 2006. Along with luminarias being lit up at the park, they will also be seen at businesses, homes and Hampshire County Superior Court.

At the event, attendees can look forward to a rendition the song “This Little Light of Mine,” performed by Evelyn Harris, a tradition that dates back to the luminaria lighting’s inception.

“Over the years we have had musicians from our area cover the song with school groups, we’ve had Lou Barlow from Dinosaur Junior, we’ve had Evelyn Harris, Martin Sexton, the Nields. So, another benefit of this is we’ve had the community musicians partake as well,” she said.

“It’s really designed to let kids know that they’re not alone. It’s hard for kids when they come in, they think they’re the only person this has happened to, and this is just not the case – sadly. This is something far more pervasive than most people know or want to think about,” she said. “The luminaria is particularly nice because it is a visual representation of the support that these kids have.”

McElhone said the event started three years ago as a way to bring people together during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We started in the height of COVID knowing that we couldn’t bring people together inside, so how do we bring people together and raise awareness in a visual way that allows people to access it without having to worry about the dangers of the pandemic. It’s been very successful, and we’ve got a lot of folks who want to support us and be a part of it,” McElhone said.

Reflecting on the importance of the events, McElhone said they present a good opportunity to support children across the county.

“It’s an opportunity for us to really share that this is an issue here in our community and it’s a way to show that the community stands up and supports kids,” she said.

Through these events, McElhone said she hopes more people get interested and reach out about the CAC’s work.

“What we hope to do is when we get folks to learn about this is to reach out, check out our website, find out how to get involved and – most importantly – if they’re concerned about a child in their life, what to do,” she said.

By promoting the CAC’s work, McElhone said it helps children get the services they need to stay safe and healthy.

“The more people who know about our services, the safer kids will be, they’re tied together very closely. If families have the resources they need and get the interventions they need, kids will stay safer and healthier,” McElhone said. “Having access to our high-quality mental health care and medical care, on top of really the best folks from law enforcement, prosecution and child welfare is that key of these different agencies coming together to make sure that child is safe now and in the future because we don’t want to see kids come back.”

At the end of the day, McElhone said the goal of the events is to celebrate the children that tell their stories.

“It’s a great way to celebrate the work we do, celebrate our partners and most importantly, celebrate these amazingly brave kids who are willing to come in and share their stories and trust that as adults we are going to make sure they stay safe,” she said.

For more information about the Children’s Advocacy Center of Hampshire County, visit cachampshire.org or call 570-5989.

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