First lady supports center, children
Arkansas first lady Susan Hutchinson said Thursday the Cooper-Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center and other centers play a crucial role in treating victims of child abuse.
Hutchinson was the keynote speaker for the center’s Child Abuse Prevention Rally and Luncheon. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
“It happens everywhere; we just don’t always recognize it,” Hutchinson said. “That is the reason it is important to talk about the chil-
dren’s advocacy center, what we do and connect the dots.”
Some reports show as many as one in three girls and one in six boys is sexually abused before the age of 18.
“A lot of them are in prison,” Hutchinson said. “A lot of them are dysfunctional. A lot of them have become violators themselves. Some of them are among us and they are faking it real well, but they have anxieties, they have hardships, they have poor health and they keep it all kept down and haven’t even told their spouse because of false guilt and false shame that was never meant for them.”
Hutchinson said she did not know of anyone in her life who experienced abuse when she was growing up, but she later met a friend who was abused by her father.
“My friend grew up thinking that she should pray for her dad to die so her mom could marry a nice man,” Hutchinson said. “No child should need to pray that.”
Hutchinson served on the board of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Benton County for four years. She said the centers are key in treating victims and stopping abusers.
“That is why we work so hard to make sure the children who need their voices heard come to us,” Hutchinson said.
Her friend channeled her experiences and became a social worker. Hutchinson asked for support for agents from the Department of Human Services, law enforcement officers, judges, prosecutors and others involved in the process of stopping child abuse and holding the abusers accountable.
“The training we have and the counseling we do is nothing like anybody else does,” Hutchinson said. “It is targeted to this particular need.”
A display was set up at the event with hundreds of hand prints to represent the more than 500 children seen by members of the Cooper-Anthony staff in 2016. Pinwheels were displayed in front of the center alongside McAuley Court. Prevent Child Abuse America introduced the pinwheel in 2008 as the national symbol for child abuse prevention.
“They represent just the fun that a child has at such an early age and how innocent they are,” said Lamar Trieschmann, emcee. “It reminds us of the disruption of that innocence and the play, that’s not fair, that’s not just and that is why we are here — to make a difference in that.”
Patrick McCruden, president of the center’s board of directors, praised the center’s multi-disciplinary system working with agencies in 11 counties. McCruden is the senior vice president for mission integration with CHI St. Vincent.
“This place has been a blessing to our community and certainly a blessing to me, personally,” McCruden said.
Cooper-Anthony was founded by Mercy in 2003 and is one of 16 child advocacy centers in the state. It is the only hospital-based center in Arkansas.
The center was awarded the highest level of membership in 2012 from the National Children’s Alliance, which is the accrediting agency for child advocacy centers. Cooper-Anthony provides individualized services such as forensic interviews, forensic medical exams, child advocacy, mental health services, prevention programs and training programs for children, their families and other groups.
Students in the Oaklawn Visual and Performing Arts Magnet School choir performed several songs for guests.
Claims of misconduct involving children or adolescents should be made to the Arkansas Department of Human Services’ Child Abuse Hotline at 800-8436349. Tips can be made anonymously.