Dinner, auction fundraiser tonight at
Music Road
Lady Vols head coach Pat Summitt
will be the guest speaker at the Safe
Harbor Child
Advocacy Center’s
“Raise the Roof” party tonight, Friday, June 9 in Pigeon Forge.
The aim of Safe
Harbor Child Advocacy is to aid severely neglected and physically abused
children in the area by assisting law enforcement officers, child protective services and other pertinent parties.
The group works toward building a child advocacy center for the 4th Judicial
District (covering Sevier, Jefferson, Grainger and
Cocke counties).
“We’re one of the few districts that does not have one (a
child advocacy center),” said Safe Harbor’s
President of the Board of Directors Donna J.
Koester.
In February,
Sevierville city officials voted to approve
a lease agreement with Safe
Harbor for the
establishment of the district’s first Child Advocacy
Center.
The lease
agreement allows the non-profit
corporation to build its center on city-owned land on McMahan Avenue.
SHCAC President Barry Fain said the center would allow abused
children to get into counseling quickly and comfortably in a child-friendly
atmosphere. The center would provide
one central location for everyone involved, allowing the child to recount his
or her story once, to a qualified forensic interviewer “who is trained
to speak on the child’s level,” Fain said.
Often a child
must be questioned at a police station, examined at a hospital and then
counseled at yet another facility. Housing these services under
one roof helps reduce potential stress for the child and the non-offending
parent.
Fain also said
Child Advocacy Centers have shown to be helpful in prosecuting
these cases.
The Raise the
Roof party will take place tonight from 6:30-11:30 p.m. at the Music Road Hotel and Convention
Center in Pigeon Forge. There will be dinner, dancing and silent and live
auctions.
Jay Adams of Mix
105.5 will be master of ceremonies joining Pat Summitt
for the evening
