‘Children’s Champions’ honored by coalition
The Tuolumne Resiliency Coalition recently recognized 12 local “Children's Champions” in honor of National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April.
Tuolumne County's local child abuse prevention council has a number of activities planned to increase awareness of the issue, including recognizing local heroes who are actively engaged in building resilience for our youth, stated a news release.
The nominees are:
• Heather Albertson, Sonora High School counselor
• Gemi Battle, Road to Resilience program manager
• Hollie Brown, Tuolumne County District Attorney's Office child victim advocate
• Reiko Craig, Child Welfare Services rapid response and paramount placement supervisor
• Cassandra Jenecke, Tuolumne County district attorney
• Alex Mcculloch, Road to Resilience social worker
• Rachel Reese, Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office Child Crimes Division detective
• James Riley, Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office FOCUS Program
• Kelsey Stone, Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools Office Homeless and Foster Youth
• Jen Torres, Center for Non Violent Community prevention educator
• Margie Wiley, Road to Resilience native services navigator
• Houa Xiong, Road to Resilience social services supervisors
The nominees will be honored at a meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday, May 5, of the Tuolumne Resiliency Coalition at the Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools Office, 175 Fairview Lane, Room 217, Sonora.
“Each of us has a role to play in preventing child abuse and neglect,” said coalition Chairwoman Annie Hockett in a news release. “By increasing public awareness and implementing effective strategies to build resiliency in our youth, Tuolumne County will experience a dramatic increase in the health and safety of our children. These recipients exemplify how concentrated efforts to prevent child maltreatment have far reaching impacts on individual children, their families and the greater community.”
The Tuolumne Resiliency Coalition oversees services for children, focuses on the prevention of child abuse and neglect, educates the community about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and the effects of trauma, and promotes self-care and resilience.