City Proclaims Child Abuse Prevention Month

This is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and at their regular meeting Monday Toccoa City Commissioners issued a Proclamation naming April as Child Abuse Prevention Month in Toccoa.

As a former teacher, Mayor Gail Fry said the issue of child abuse is close to her heart.

“This is true to my heart,” she said. “As a former educator and working with children all my life, you’re first on my list. So we appreciate all you do.”

Mark Smith is the Director of the Child Advocacy Center in Toccoa.

He said even though they have had a lot of child abuse cases pass through their doors this past year, he knows there are more cases that go unreported.

“We deal with kids who have either been physcially or sexually abused. We have a protocol that brings them to us so that we do the interview. Last year, we had 89 cases of child abuse in 2018 here in Stephens. And those were the ones that were reported. So, you know that were a lot more that did not go reported at all,” Smith said.

Smith said also at Powerhouse is a full medical suite and police are available to assist the staff as well when an abuse case comes in.

Ruthie Zellner is the Director of Sexual Assault Services at Powerhouse. Once known as Powerhouse For Kids, Zellner’s says the Powerhouse is not just for children anymore

“We’re also a sexual assault center, which means we also help adults, not just children,” she explained. “The adults come to us through many different ways. They can come like a child, through law enforcement or they could come just seeking services from us. So we provide referrals to therapy for adults who have experienced sexual abuse. It could be current sexual abuse or abuse they experienced as a child.”

Now called, Faith’s Power House, their mission is to provide free and confidential services for individuals and family members affected by child abuse or sexual assault.

PowerHouse also has a 24-hour toll-free crisis line: 888-782-1338.