For The Child is Recruiting Child Abuse Response Advocates

Long Beach CA

23 February, 2022

6:10 PM

Description

"Honestly, this is the most rewarding thing I've done in my life," said Lisa Callamaro, a 12-year member of For The Child's Child Abuse Response Team (CART). CART is a group of dedicated volunteers available to respond 24/7 to local hospitals in Long Beach, Torrance, and San Pedro when law enforcement believes a child or adolescent has been recently sexually assaulted. In a nutshell, the advocate accompanies the victim of any age (from toddler to 21) at the hospital and provides companionship during their visit, even in the middle of the night, but the value is so much more. "We don't ask the child any questions about what happened," Callamaro explained. "We make sure the child is not alone and keep things normal. Most of the time, when I go out on a call, I spend a few hours with a great kid and come home with stickers on my clothes. I like to say if you like to color with crayons, then you can do this and it will make a huge difference for that child." The advocate is prepared with 40 hours of training to be ready for any scenario and understand the circumstances. When arriving at the hospital, the advocate has a teddy bear to present to the victim along with materials to color, play games, read books, or other activities in a dedicated room away from a medical exam room when law enforcement brings the child to the hospital. Callamaro, who runs her own business as a film and television manager and producer, says that knowing she was a part of the system that helped an abused child receive therapy gives her peace. "So many adults struggle over stuff they never had therapy for as a child and it holds them back. Early intervention is a game changer," she said. "When I hear a month later that the child went to therapy, then I know that child has a chance of moving on and not letting this define them, I'm relieved. It will be something that happened to them, but it won't define them." The advocate becomes an integral part of what's known as the SART, the sexual abuse response team. That team includes the forensic nurse, law enforcement, and sometimes the District Attorney. As a part of that team, the advocate accompanies the victim during a physical exam and helps the parents cope with the magnitude of the current situation. CART volunteers then connect the victim and the family to For The Child for services and treatment or to other programs based on their needs and where they live. Each month, the CART advocates participate in a supervision meeting to review the prior month's cases and learn from each other and support each other. "We are bound by HIPAA to not discuss these cases with anyone," Callamaro said. "On occasion you are involved in a case that hit you hard. Your fellow CART members support you, including the two professionals on staff working on CART, Isabel and Jenny. They give us therapy as much as to any child." Isabel Pasillas is the CART coordinator and organizes the training twice each year with CART Supervisor Jenny Magana AMFT. Pasillas points out that this is not a typical volunteer opportunity where you show-up and help for a few hours then leave. CART advocates sign-up to be either on-call for after hours from Monday through Friday (5:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m. all five days), or they sign-up for a weekend on-call (5:00 p.m. Friday through 8:00 a.m. Monday). There's a primary and secondary (back-up) CART member signed-up for each shift. Volunteers are expected to sign-up for one shift each month for at least one year. "They could get called to go to a hospital at any time, it could be 1:00 a.m.," Pasillas said. "The best volunteers we've seen have one thing in common: they're invested in this like a job. Even during the COVID lockdowns and before vaccinations were available, we had volunteers going out and providing this service." CART member Valerie Dahlk agrees. Dahlk has been involved for eight years starting when her own son was five years old. She works full time for a corporation but says that being a CART member pays her in "heart points." "I am thankful to be able to do this," Dahlk said. "The most rewarding incident was with an 11-year-old boy and my son was 11 at the time. He didn't want the bear when I met him. I spent time talking to him and somehow by the end of our visit I had him in full belly laughs. I was so happy. Then he took the bear," she recalled. "Of course, I got in my car and cried because that could have been my baby." For the Child is opening its 40-hour virtual training program beginning Tuesday, March 1, 2022 and ending April 6, 2022. Classes take place Tuesday evenings from 6:00 until 8:30 pm, and on Saturdays from 9:00 am until 2 pm. Both Callamaro and Dahlk agree that the training covers everything an advocate might encounter. "We hear from the newer advocates in our monthly meetings how they knew what to do because of the training," Dahlk said. "Part of the training is understanding sexual abuse. You think you know, but we have all learned something in that training. The training includes presentations from DCFS and forensic nurses who help us see the important role we play." Callamaro, who has helped with the last three training series, added, "Among other things, the main topics of the training cover sexual abuse and sex trafficking, how to operate in the SART team and recognize the boundaries an advocate must observe, how to play with kids because everyone doesn't know this, things to consider with children with special needs, how to talk to the parents, and what protocols to follow so we don't impede the evidence collection, and finally we learn how to explain the local resources available to help the child recover. All the work that needs to happen is beyond that first meeting between the advocate and the kid, and we never see them again." After the training, each new advocate must go on two practicum calls where a senior member of the CART shadows them, ready to assist if needed. For The Child requires CART volunteers to pass a background check with Live Scan and the DMV. Volunteers must be fully vaccinated and submit proof of COVID vaccinations. After completing the mandatory 40-hour training, they will attend monthly supervision meetings on the first Wednesday of every month from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. and sign-up for one CART volunteer night shift per month (daytime volunteer opportunities also available) for one year. For more information, contact Isabel Pasillas at [email protected] or 562-422-8472. CART and follow-up counseling at no charge to families is made possible by a grant from the California Office of Emergency Services. For The Child's mission is simple and important. Children should be treated with respect and protected from abuse. The nonprofit 501c3 meets this challenge by providing both comprehensive child abuse treatment and trauma-informed mental health care, counseling, and therapy to strengthen families and provide the tools of healing to children. For The Child's Vision All children will have the opportunity to reach their natural potential free from abuse or neglect. Children will be nurtured and cared for in loving families, they will be safe in their homes, their schools, and their neighborhoods.