By Denise Dunbar | ddunbar@alextimes.com
The Center for Alexandria’s Children recently celebrated the city’s first responders who serve the community’s toughest cases, those including abused and neglected children.
The center honored the specialized Multidisciplinary Team at an appreciation luncheon at Belle Haven Country Club on Oct. 16. Team members include city detectives, prosecutors, social workers, therapists, doctors and nurses who collaborate, through the center’s Child Advocacy Center Program, to support child abuse victims.
“The truth is, we are all in this together. There isn’t one of us here who could do their job without someone else in this room,” Meghan Roberts, keynote speaker and assistant city attorney, said in a statement. “We came together because we all have a passion to leave this world better than we found it; we stay together because we see the progress we are making and know that our working together brings success for children and families.”
Bryan Porter, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Alexandria, acknowledged the large cost to the community – from crime, mental health costs and the cycle of abuse – when children don’t receive the services that they need.
CAC provides specialized training, personal and professional support to each member of the Multidisciplinary Team so that every child who discloses abuse in Alexandria receives comprehensive services in one safe, child-friendly place.
