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.
2023-2024 ADVOCACY CENTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Dr. Kristy Donaldson
Vice President
Lindsay Bawduniak
Treasurer
Tammy Harralson
Secretary
Michaela (Miki) Alvarado
Lacy Brejcha
Bricker Bruner
Rachael Fineske
Frank Gentsch
Briana Gongora
Dr. Shannon Hankhouse
Sarah Hopkins-McCormack
Kristin Kaye
Joseph Scaramucci
Josh Tetens
OUR STAFF
| Name | Title | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aleigh Ascherl | Executive Director | aascherl@advocacycntr.org | x110 |
| Alexis Dawkins | Rural CAC Client Services Specialist & Forensic Interviewer | adawkins@advocacycntr.org | — |
| 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 |
| Doug Cummins | Interim Clinical Director | dcummins@advocacycntr.org | x116 |
| 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 |
| Katie Lauderdale | Operations/Administrative Manager | adminsupport@advocacycntr.org | x111 |
| Dr. Kerry Burkley | CAC Program Director | kburkley@advocacycntr.org | x101 |
| Kristi Skains | Forensic Interviewer | kskains@advocacycntr.org | — |
| Kyla Wilson | Prevention and Education Director | kwilson@advocacycntr.org | x118 |
| 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 |
| Maria Barragan Vargas | Prevention Community Organizer | mvargas@advocacycntr.org | x108 |
| 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 |
| Dr. Soo Battle | Medical Advisor/Pediatric Examiner | sbattle@advocacycntr.org | x104 |
| Sonya Vasquez | Forensic Interviewer | svasquez@advocacycntr.org | x113 |
| Sue Argabright | Grants and Staff Accountant | sargabright@advocacycntr.org | x112 |
| Sydney Lackey | Crisis Hotline Supervisor/Case Manager | slackey@advocacycntr.org | x129 |