“It has given me hope. I have learned a lot of ways to cope with strong feelings.” – Quote from 13 year old client of Child Protection Center, Inc.
Here is her story:
The picture below represents the journey of one 13 year old victim. This client was sexually abused by her biological father since age 6. At 13 she had the courage to tell somebody what was happening to her. Her heart is broken!
The scar with Love and Hate represents how she feels and her internal struggle. She Loves her dad, but she Hates what he did to her. In the upper left portion of the heart there is a needle and thread and you can see that there are some stitches at the bottom of the heart as she is working on repairing her broken heart.
Notice there is still lots to do as there remains a gap in her heart. This client believes that eventually her heart will be mended which is represented by the patch in the upper right portion of the heart. However, no matter how much repair is done she will never truly be whole again which is reflected by the portion of her heart is missing. She shares with her therapist that this is what my father stole from me and I will never get back.
This art demonstrates the difficult journey this child victim of sexual abuse is going through.
As illustrated in the story above, the mission of Child Protection Services, Inc is the prevention, intervention, and treatment of child abuse. CPC envisions a community in which all children are safe from abuse and free to thrive.
The Child Protection Center (CPC) has been serving Sarasota and DeSoto Counties since 1980. The organization initially provided only child abuse intervention services through the Child Protection Team (CPT) and has since grown to encompass four core programs that provide prevention, intervention, and treatment services.
MILESTONES:
- Just last year, CPC celebrated 40 years of service
- Doug Staley, CPC’s Executive Director, recently hit 25 years with the organization
- CPC’s PAWS program had its 10 year anniversary
Pet Advocates Working in the Suncoast (PAWS): The PAWS program provides comfort and aid to children and families in time of trauma and crisis through certified pet therapy animals and trained, screened handlers. Pet therapy programs enhance the lives of children in amazing ways. Animals facilitate communication between a child and an adult. Animals have been shown to reduce stress and blood pressure with humans within the first ten minutes of interaction. Animals are not capable of judging but instead, offer a sense of calm, comfort and unconditional support.
To learn more about CPCs amazing work or to make a donation please visit their website at: http://www.cpcsarasota.org/
Catalist Realty is proud to be a local partner and supporter of unrestricted donations for any and all non-profits.
Give us a call today at 941.777.2968 or reach us at INFO@CATALISTREALTY.COM
