Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Center marks years of service
One-year anniversary at Mercy Tower location also celebrated
FORT SMITH — The Hamilton Center for Child Advocacy celebrated its first anniversary at the new location and the years of service to children in the region with an open house Wednesday.
The center opened in Fort Smith in 2009 as the Child Advocacy Center, providing free services to children who are victims of physical and sexual abuse and neglect.
According to data provided by the center, in the last 12 months they provided advocacy services for more than 1,000 children, forensic interviews for 975 children, physical examinations for 126 children and on-site mental health assessments for 146 children.
In 2021, the center expanded its workspace within its current location at 2713 S. 74th St., in the Mercy Tower Building.
Laurie Burnett, director of the center, recognized child abuse is a difficult topic to discuss, and therefore it’s hard to get excited about the center’s successes or share the subject of their work.
“No one really wants to think about the one in 10 children who will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday, or that Arkansas leads the country in the number of children in foster care because abuse and neglect is so bad that these children can’t live in their homes,” Burnett said. “It’s hard to hear that we have seen over 800 children this year alone at the Hamilton Center. And when you tour the center, it can be overwhelming to see the handprints, knowing that each of these kids placed it there as a symbol of saying I was here. Did you hear me? Were you listening?
“These things are hard to talk about. But child abuse thrives in silence. So our vision at the Hamilton Center for Child Advocacy is that every child lives free from abuse in a community committed to their protection and care.”
Danny Baker, Fort Smith police chief and a member of the center’s board, said including the Hamilton Center in investigations is crucial because a forensic interview is terrifying enough for an adult, let alone a child.
“The process and the environment might be very scary to them and make them less likely to open up and talk about possible abuse, so the resources that are available to us through the Hamilton Center help us to reduce that additional trauma that could be created in an already traumatic experience and help us obtain the information that we need for a criminal case,” Baker said.
He said the physical examinations help assure the child their body will be OK after an abuse incident, while also
ensuring the integrity of the evidence collection process to successfully prosecute an offender. The therapy helps families cope with an incident and also provide crucial statements for an investigation, he said.
“The advocates, they also keep in touch with the family,” Baker said. “At times, they may be told information that wasn’t shared with us or wouldn’t be shared with us otherwise. The Hamilton Center provides that continued support and assistance and advocacy through every step of the child’s case.”
Because the center provides all these services in one place, it streamlines the process and enhances communication and access between agencies, he said.
“I’m thankful for the partnership and the support of Mercy Hospital,” he said. “Their longstanding care for the health and well-being of our friends and neighbors in the Fort Smith and the River Valley region have always been of the highest quality, and I’m thankful that they’ve chosen to continue their support and that tradition of excellence by supporting the Hamilton Center for Child Advocacy. I believe together, we’ll continue to improve the lives of everyone in the River Valley.”
Burnett said the Hamilton Center wouldn’t be where it is today without the work of Arkansas first lady Susan Hutchinson, her work on the Children’s Advocacy Center of Benton County board and supporting legislative changes to help advocacy centers work more collaboratively with their partners.
Hutchinson said growing up, she was taught about “stranger danger,” but didn’t realize until working with child advocacy centers how pervasive the issue of child physical and sexual assault was. That’s why the centers were created, to help put predators away so they can’t hurt anyone else, she said.
Hutchinson recognized the work of all the center employees, especially the interviewers.
“We just allude up here to what the kids have experienced,” she said. “The children tell them inch by inch, moment by moment, hurt by hurt what was done to them. And these ladies, they hear this. I’ve asked interviewers in the past, ‘How do you go home at night? How are you not haunted? How are you not having nightmares knowing that there’s people out there that would do that to a sweet child?’ And they tell me, ‘I just keep thinking while they’re telling me this, I can make it better.’
“It’s sad that we have to get to 1,000 kids a year here,” Hutchinson said, adding, “wouldn’t it be sadder still if the door was shut and we couldn’t help?”