Greetings!
At Child Advocacy we are grateful we have been able to overcome the obstacles of the pandemic and continue to collaborate and work with the community to provide our services. Thank you to everyone who supported us, collaborated, made contributions, and utilized our services. We look forward to another year of serving Gratiot County.
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter,
Staci Bigelow
Volunteer/Event Coordinator
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Child Advocacy Virtual January
Lunch & Learn
Thursday, January 7, 2021
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Please email Staci at staci@childadvocacy.net or call (989)463-1422 to RSVP for the event. The event link will be emailed to those who RSVP closer to the event date.
Gratiot County Substance Abuse Coalition Virtual Meeting
Monday, January 11, 2021
1:00 p.m.
Please email Emily at
Caregiver Support Group Virtual Meeting
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
6:00 p.m.
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DARKNESS TO LIGHT'S Steward of
Children Virtual Training
Wednesday, January 27th, 2021
2:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Registration required and limited to 15 participants. Contact Morgan Rooy at 989-463-1422 or morgan@childadvocacy.net by 1/22/2021 to reserve your space.
CASA Info Session
January 27, 2021
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
If you would like to learn more about this program or attend our next CASA Volunteer Training, please attend our next Information Session!
Register in advance for this meeting:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
For more information on upcoming events and trainings please see detailed flyers below or visit our website at ChildAdvocacy.net
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About Us
Child Advocacy is a non-profit agency with a mission to improve the welfare of children and their families through education, training, and support for the prevention of substance abuse and child abuse and neglect.
Our Staff
Audra Stahl
President & CEO
audra@childadvocacy.net
Pam Mahin
Office Manager
pam@childadvocacy.net
Staci Bigelow
Event/Volunteer Coordinator
staci@childadvocacy.net
Ty Warczinsky
GCSAC Program Director
ty@childadvocacy.net
Emily Rayburn
GCSAC Coordinator
emily@childadvocacy.net
Sara Krebs
GCSAC Prevention
Coordinator
sara@childadvocacy.net
Lexi Morton
GCSAC Prevention Educator
lexi@childadvocacy.net
Morgan Rooy
CAN Program Director
morgan@childadvocacy.net
Richelle Davis
CAN Prevention Educator
richelle@childadvocacy.net
Michelle Zombeck
CASA Program Director
michelle@childadvocacy.net
Rachel Molands
CASA Recruitment Coordinator
rachel@childadvocacy.net
Heather Therrien
CAC Program Director
heather@childadvocacy.net
Jennifer Stambaugh
CAC Victim Advocate
jennifer@childadvocacy.net
Nicole Showers
CAC Case Manager
nicole@childadvocacy.net
Nikky Holton
CAC Intake Coordinator
nikky@childadvocacy.net
Board of Directors
President
Carolyn Studley
Community
Representative
Vice President
Jennifer Leppien
Community Representative
Secretary
Garth Anderson
Commercial Bank
Treasurer
Sara Bonacci
Community
Representative
Colleen Davis
Prosecuting Attorney's Office
Jim Dubey
Garr Tool
Rob DuHadway
DuHadway Dance Dimensions
Andrew Fias
Michigan State Police
Tammy Halfmann
Mercantile Bank
David Justin
Alma School Board
John Morey
CPA
Mike Morris
Gratiot County Sheriff
Alison Morrison
Dept. of Health and Human Services
Jennifer Siefker
Tri-Lakes Petroleum
Michelle Stillwagon
Gratiot Integrated Health Network
Katie Tobias
Katie Tobias State Farm
Annette Weller-Collison
Kahn Consulting, INC.
Mark Williams
Alma Public Safety Administrator
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Human Trafficking Awareness Month
January is recognized as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. During the month of January, individuals and groups are encouraged to raise awareness on the growing issue of human trafficking. One of the main ways to raise awareness on this issue is to be well-informed and ensure that accurate information is being distributed. According to the Department of Homeland Security, human trafficking is “modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.” Human trafficking shows no preference for victims’ gender, socioeconomic status, or age. It is often thought that human trafficking only happens in third world countries, but that is false. Studies have shown that human traffickers often target individuals who are vulnerable; including individuals with mental health issues, substance use issues, or homeless individuals. Traffickers many times are not strangers to the victims, many human trafficking victims have been trafficked by individuals that they know and love.
It is essential that our communities are equipped with resources to identify and report suspicion of human trafficking. There are many signs that someone might be being human trafficking but a few to look out for are: a person living in unstable living conditions, a dramatic change in behavior, noticeable bruising or signs of physical abuse, the individual acts as if they are coached on what to say or how to act. If you would like more information on human trafficking and signs to look out for, please visit polarisproject.org.
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day is January 11th. Please join Child Advocacy as we wear our BLUE to show our support for raising awareness on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Make sure to encourage everyone around you to partake in #WearBlueDay and to send Child Advocacy your photos with the hashtag #WearBlueDay so they can be shared on our Facebook page.
If you are interested in learning more about human trafficking please contact Child Advocacy.
Nicole Showers
Children's Advocacy Center Case Manager
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Shop With a Hero
Our shop with a Hero program looked a little different this year with the pandemic but, we were still able to spread Christmas joy to 62 children in Gratiot County with our first drive thru pickup event.
We would like to say thank you to Alma Meijer, Alma Walmart, Gratiot County Community Foundation, Gratiot 911, and Optimist Club for donating to make this event possible.
We would also like to thank the Alma Police Department, Breckenridge Police Department, Gratiot 911, Gratiot County Sheriff's Department, and the Michigan State Police for participating as our local Hero's.
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Resilience
In September, Child Advocacy collaborated with Michele Borba,
Ed. D to provide a training: “Healing Trauma with Empathy and Teaching Resilience to Move Forward.” This training provided the community with evidence-based, no-cost ways to offer support to children and adults to reduce stress and build resilience during unprecedented times.
When individuals experience everyday challenges to traumatic events (or even a global pandemic), this affects everyone differently. Yet, individuals can adapt- all thanks to resilience.
Psychologists define resilience as the ability to adapt in the face of trauma or significant stress. Often times it is the ability to “bounce back” and can involve personal growth (APA). To build resilience within a person, it takes time and intention. By becoming more resilient, one has the ability to grow and improve their own life!
While building resilience, it’s important to build connections, make wellness a priority, have an optimistic perspective, and find purpose. As adults it’s important for us to take care of our physical and emotional wellbeing, exercise, practice ‘self-care’, connect with our friends, and give to others. It feels good to do good for others.
One way to do good for our community is to become a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). CASA Volunteers advocate for children that have experienced abuse and/or neglect and help them navigate the permanency process. CASA is a volunteer opportunity where adults, who have a passion for helping children, complete a specialized training and ensure that a child’s best interests are met. If you would like to build resilience within a child and yourself, contact us here.
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Rachel Molands
Court Appointed Special Advocates Recruitment Coordinator
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Happy New Year!
As we reflect back on 2020 it is certainly a year we will never forget. Our new building was by far the biggest highlight of our year! We are thankful for all of the community support and outreach as we faced what was sure to be our most difficult year financially. The resilience and creativity shown by the staff at Child Advocacy was outstanding.
When the shut down happened the staff didn't hesitate to find innovative and creative ways to serve the children and families in our community. Although 2020 was a difficult one for all of us I feel blessed to have had so many wonderful things happen here at Child Advocacy throughout the year. Thank you for your ongoing support of our agency.
Sincerely,
Audra Stahl
President & CEO
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