New center for abused children
By: Julianna Bonnett
Local children who have been abused have a safer space to share their stories with the opening of a new child and youth advocacy centre.
The Windsor Essex Child/Youth Advocacy Centre (WECYAC) provides a child-centred, safe location for children/youth to disclose their abuse to a specially trained team of professionals. (Photo: Courtesy of Windsor Police)
Windsor Police are hoping the centre, located at the Anthony P. Toldo Centre for Health Science at St Clair College, will offer children professional support and increase the rate of abuse convictions.
“My job and our job as police officers is to reduce our reliance on this centre to be quite frank,” said Windsor Police chief Al Frederick. “We want to eliminate child abuse and this is going to go a long way in that direction.”
About 700 cases of physical and sexual assault are reported annually in the Windsor Essex area, say police. Most cases are not reported immediately because individuals are not comfortable enough to speak out.
The cost to run the centre is $275,000 annually. The federal Department of Justice and other community partners are funding the initiative.
There are 40 similar centres operating or in development in Canada.
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