VALDOSTA — The Children’s Advocacy Center of Lowndes County is a nonprofit that has been protecting and helping children for over 20 years.

The CAC offers trauma-informed forensic, mental health, and medical services to child abuse survivors, child sex trafficking victims, and witnesses to felony crimes, such as homicide.

The CAC serves Berrien, Brooks, Cook, Echols, Lanier, and Lowndes counties.

Executive Director Ashley Lindsay said that ever since its conception, the CAC has been providing help and healing for the abused children and their non-offending family members and that prosecution rates have since increased tremendously.

According to Lindsay in 2023 the CAC served 441 new children and conducted 199 forensic interviews.

“The Children’s Advocacy Center delivers excellence in child abuse response, healing, and prevention through collaborative services, awareness, education, and leadership,” said Lindsay. “We work to provide a community where all children are safe and free from abuse.”

The CAC works togethers with law enforcement, child protective services, medical professionals, prosecutors, victim advocates, and therapists — all under one roof.

“We are blessed for the support [our partners] offer us,” said Lindsay. “Their support is vital to us. It truly takes a village and we could not do this without every partner.”

Lindsay said within the last year the CAC was able to get its own medical program up and running.

“This is huge for us and the survivors and allows the child (ages 3-12) to receive forensic medical exams under the same roof as the forensic interview. This means that the child can get all services under one roof and they don’t have to leave and travel for the medical exam.”

Lindsay said they plan to continue to provide quality services to survivors and their families by adding more forensic interviewers, therapists, and contract nurses.

“This means we will eventually need more space at our center. For now, we continuously work on improving the delivery of care to our children and families.”

The CAC also has events coming up that the community can get involved in.

“April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and we kick off the month with our Heroes of Hope Luncheon on March 28,” Lindsay said.

Donations can be made to CAC by calling (229) 245-5362 or by bringing them into the office. The CAC is located at 3325 Skipper Bridge Road.