Doing Good Things Series ~ The Dragonfly House Children’s Advocacy Center
By Guest Blogger Rene Crawford, Development Director
I want to talk about something that is very difficult to hear. No one wants to believe that children are abused, it is unthinkable. Yet, one in ten children have been, are being, or will be exposed to child abuse by the time they reach 18 years old. That’s the disheartening news.
Here is the good news: In 2010 our Executive Director, Brandi Reagan, while working part time at the Domestic Violence Center in Mocksville NC, realized that steps were in place to care for adults in these traumatic situations, but nothing child centered was in place for the kids. So, in 2010 she began the daunting task of applying for grants and asking for help from the community. She started it by herself, and it has grown to a 10 person staff. The Dragonfly House is here to offer hope and healing to those children and their non-offending family members after abuse has occurred.
We are a child friendly Nationally Accredited non-profit Children’s Advocacy Center with a loving staff consisting of a Board-Certified Pediatrician, nurse, forensic interviewer, victim service director, court advocate, two therapists, community educator, office coordinator and development director all under one roof. At The Dragonfly House, the child only has to come to one facility where it is comfortable and safe. The detective, DSS social worker, therapist, doctor and the advocates all come TO the child. This reduces the possibility of re-traumatizing them. Isn’t that the way it should be? The healing begins when a child victim of abuse can tell their story, the truth about what has happened to them.
We all have an obligation to take care of our most vulnerable victims. The Dragonfly House is mostly grant funded however 15% of our funding comes from businesses and individuals in the community. The average cost for a child to come through our center and receive all our services is $1,367. We never bill or charge the family a penny. They have enough to worry about. We bill insurance/Medicaid when possible for the medical exam only. We fund raise for everything else.
If you know of a way you or a group you belong to can create a fundraiser for The Dragonfly House, please contact me at 336-753-6155. Our 9th Annual Share the Love Gala is April 5, 2019. Please watch for tickets to go on sale and join us as we work to save the lives of child victims yesterday, today and tomorrow.
To learn more about us and what we do, visit our website at www.thedragonflyhouse.com or look us up on Facebook. I look forward to hearing from you.
To read other blogs in our “Doing Good Things Series,” click here!
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