ABOUT

Many people are hurting because of an act of violence committed against them.  Anyone – men, women, and children may be affected by violence.  Our children are subjected to neglect, physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Research shows as many as 1 in 4 girls will be victims of sexual abuse by the time they are 18-years-old. For boys, the number is 1 in 6. Often the abuse is a “family secret” passed from one generation to another.

There is hope and restoration at the Advocacy Center.The Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children began in 1976 as the Waco Rape Crisis Center. It has grown into an umbrella agency with three programs, the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC),
The Victims Center, and Prevention and Education
 – offering many services to the hurting in our community.

Over the past year the Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children has:

89 FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS and 566 FORENSIC INTERVIEWS provided
at the Center of children 17 and under that have made an outcry of abuse, if abuse is
suspected or if the child has witnessed a crime.

53 NON-OFFENDING PARENTS attended Family Forward and Learning initiatives
Following Trauma groups. This number is lower than usual due to COVID-19.

695 RESPONSES TO THE 24/7 CRISIS HOTLINE

210 OF THE 695 crisis hotline calls resulted in Advocates going to Waco hospitals, of
which . . .

159 FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS were performed by a Sexual Assault Forensic
Examiner.

1,134 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY VICTIMS OF CRIME received direct counseling
and advocacy services.

102 PREVENTION RELATED PROGRAMS were presented by Prevention and Education
staff to 646 ATTENDEES.

435 MEDIA POSTS with 94,481 VIEWS/ENGAGEMENTS. Staff began a
podcast, provided both virtual and physical resources for families, provided book and movie
discussion materials around various topics and created videos that have over 1,200 views.

2022-2023 ADVOCACY CENTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bricker Bruner - President Kristy Donaldson - Vice President Michaela (Miki) Alvarado - Secretary Dr. Shannon Hankhouse - Treasurer
Dr. Bosi Amoro Lindsay Bawduniak Kristy Donaldson Ashley Evans
Rachael Fineske Frank Gentsch Tammy Harralson Sarah Hopkins –McCormack
Kristin Kaye Joseph Scaramucci Josh Tetens Barrett Thomas

OUR STAFF

Staff Member Title Email Extension
Aleigh Ascherl Executive Director aascherl@advocacycntr.org x110
Alexis Dawkins Rural CAC Client Services Specialist adawkins@advocacycntr.org
Alison Sorley Development Specialist asorley@advocacycntr.org x127
Amy Derrick Crisis Hotline Coordinator-Case Manager aderrick@advocacycntr.org x126
Arianna Gaines Prevention Educator againes@advocacycntr.org x108
Ashley Cassell CAC Intake Specialist acassell@advocacycntr.org x103
Bernie Cano Client Service Specialist bcano@advocacycntr.org x100
Blythe Waldbillig Interim Prevention and Education Director bwaldbillig@advocacycntr.org x108
Doug Cummins Interim Clinical Director dcummins@advocacycntr.org x116
Dr. Kerry Burkley CAC Program Director kburkley@advocacycntr.org x101
Dr. Soo Battle Medical Advisor/Pediatric Examiner sbattle@advocacycntr.org x104
Erika Rodriguez Counselor erodriguez@adovcacycntr.org x213
Heather Fillmore Forensic Interviewer hfillmore@advocacycntr.org x105
Heydi McKinney Family Advocate hmckinney@advocacycntr.org x106
Ida Parmer CAC Intake Specialist iparmer@advocacycntr.org x102
Kat McBride Crisis Hotline Supervisor-Case Manager kmcbride@advocacycntr.org x129
Katie Lauderdale Operations/Administrative Manager adminsupport@advocacycntr.org x111
Kristi Skains Forensic Interviewer kskains@advocacycntr.org
Laura Downing Case Manager / Counselor ldowning@advocacycntr.org x109
Lori Presley McCarter Director of Advancement lmccarter@advocacycntr.org x130
Lucero Aguilar Counselor laguilar@advocacycntr.org x124
Melissa Mansolo-Byrd Rural Victims Center Case Manager MMansolo-Byrd@advocacycntr.org
Mickie Dye Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner Coordinator mdye@advocacycntr.org
Patsy Buckner Family Advocate pbuckner@advocacycntr.org x114
Samantha Simpson Counselor ssimpson@advocacycntr.org x128
Sarah Hopping Case Manger/CSEY Care Coordinator shopping@advocacycntr.org x121
Shannon Yocham Counselor syocham@advocacycntr.org x107
Sonya Vasquez Forensic Interviewer svasquez@advocacycntr.org x113
Sue Argabright Grants and Staff Accountant sargabright@advocacycntr.org x112