Ever heard the adage: Teamwork makes the dream work? Cliche as it may be, it holds true at CAC. CAC's service model is both comprehensive and collaborative. Not only do staff work with our community-based Multidisciplinary Team members in the investigative stage, but our own staff work collaboratively across internal teams. CAC's Advocates and Trauma Therapists often support our clients for months at a time throughout the duration of a legal case or their ongoing counseling sessions, working together to bring hope and healing.
Recently, one of CAC's Advocates played a key role in helping Sonya*, a teenage client, begin to process her trauma and make progress on her healing journey. Sonya had disclosed to a friend that she was sexually assaulted while working at a restaurant. Her friend helped her report the assault to her supervisor, and her supervisor told her that because she was under 18, they had to report her assault to the police. Sonya didn’t want to report the assault, but her supervisor called the police anyway. Sonya felt terrified to get the police involved. She didn’t want to upset her family or create more stress for anyone.
Despite being very nervous and uncomfortable telling her story, Sonya felt pressure to go along with the report. At her family’s urging, she decided to come to the CAC for a forensic interview. While at CAC, Sonya became even more unsure about going through with the interview; however, her CAC Advocate helped her understand her rights and encouraged her to engage in the process as much or as little as she wanted. Sonya’s Advocate helped her understand that it was her choice to report as much as she was comfortable with and provided education on how to pursue charges in the future should she choose to do that.
Sonya’s Advocate also helped connect her with therapy services at CAC. Since her Advocate helped her feel so understood and heard during the investigative process, Sonya was able to feel safe enough at CAC to tell her story during therapy. Sonya completed a trauma narrative with her therapist and was able to understand that what happened to her was not her fault and that she did everything she could have to keep herself as safe as she could. Sonya finished therapy and was able to move forward from her experience, confident that she had made the right choices for herself.
*Name changed to protect the child's identity.