JASPER – The Dubois County Community Foundation is granting $560,000 to Southwestern Indiana Child Advocacy Center Coalition for its new center in Jasper. The foundation says the grant will go towards a $1.1 million fundraising goal needed for renovations of the former Fifth Street Elementary School property.
Greater Jasper Consolidated Schools donated the property, which will become a child advocacy center named Center on Fifth, to SWICACC in February. The grant was made possible by The Fund for Dubois County, John and Bobbi Jo Bell and several anonymous donors.
“Dubois County must be a community that prioritizes and invests in our children,” said Clayton Boyles, executive director of the Community Foundation. “This project is a vital component of caring for children who have been abused or neglected, and we need to be a community looking out for them.”
SWICACC Director Tammy Lampert says the child advocacy center will serve as a home-base for trained professionals to come together in one place. The center will house a multidisciplinary team consisting of medical, law enforcement, Department of Child Services, prosecution, mental health, and victim advocates to investigate abuse, hold offenders accountable and help children and their families heal.
“Child abuse is an epidemic that reaps havoc on our communities,” said Lampert. “The new child advocacy center will be a regional resiliency center and directly improve outcomes for children by offering all the services the child needs in one child-friendly location.”
The nonprofit provides services to children reporting abuse in Region 17 which includes, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Martin, Orange, Perry and Spencer counties.