Safe Shores - The DC Children's Advocacy Center

Child abuse is a heinous crime – painful to acknowledge and difficult to investigate and prosecute: the median age of a child victim is nine years old. No one can erase the pain, but Safe Shores knows there is hope and healing with timely and appropriate intervention. Its child-friendly approach ensures that traumatized children's voices are heard in criminal investigations, their needs are placed first, and a safe and welcoming space is available to them. It leads a compassionate, coordinated, comprehensive response to child victims, hosting and conducting forensic interviews and evaluations for partner agencies (including the Police Department and Child Protective Services), providing a playroom (and supervision) for kids awaiting interviews, new clothes and toiletries, meals, and funds for emergency needs. Safe Shores' model, deemed a "best practice" by the US Department of Justice and the American Bar Association for its response to child victims, also includes training for partner agencies and volunteers, prevention training for adults, and mental health assessment and treatment. Because no child should go through this alone.