SUMMERDALE, Ala. — Going through the trauma of sexual abuse or any kind of severe physical abuse is a traumatic experience and can be very scary, especially for children. And many times the initial interviews ae in non child-friendly places like police stations or hospitals.

To make the interview process a little easier and more comforting for children in Central and South Baldwin County, a satellite location of CARE House of Baldwin County has opened its doors at 16397 County Road 73 in Summerdale.

On Thursday, November 4, the Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce had a ribbon-cutting and there was an open house to welcome the new facility to the community with many friends and board members present.

Boasting bright colors and a huge aquarium in the front room, the new location is off the main highway and promotes a “home-like” environment for the children to feel safe, secure and protected while talking to counselors, social workers or law enforcement officials.

Claudene Nichols, first vice president of the Board for CARE House, welcomed and thanked everyone for all they had done to make the satellite location a reality. The house was purchased in December 2009 with money from three different sources.

“We received $75,000 from the Snook Foundation, $90,000 from the Impact 100 grant and $150,000 from the Edna Mae Odom Olson estate. That allowed us to pay for the house and not have a mortgage, which is so nice for us. We are very fortunate,” said Tika Gardner, Executive Assistant for Care House.

Also present at the gathering was guest speaker Timothy Fuhrman, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Mobile Division.

“This building a s testament to the care and support the people of Baldwin County have for these children. This is a magnificent facility and will help so many in the community,” said Fuhrman.

Joining the FBI in 1982, Fuhrman, a Pennsylvania native, has done work in Pennsylvania, Mississippi, New York, the FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and Utah. He also has 30 years of law experience as he got his Juris Doctor degree from Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina in 1980, according to the FBI website.

Fuhrman also spoke of two high-profile cases, Elizabeth Smart and Shasta and Dylan Groene, that he was involved with while working with the Salt Lake City division in 2005.

“Both these cases involved men who I consider monsters, and who did unspeakable things to innocent children. We had 100 investigators working on the Shasta and Dylan case and even though she was found alive, she suffered horrors no child should ever have to endure. She is now 13 years old and doing well but will have to go to counseling for the rest of her life. Her dad, Steve, is a real hero in this and has helped her so much,” said Fuhrman.

Fuhrman said of Elizabeth Smart,”Her trial starts today and she is now 22 years old. Such an absolutely remarkable young woman and so resilient after the ordeal she went through for nine months.”

There are 6,000 open cases of missing and exploited children, Fuhrman said, and they are getting better on cracking down on internet predators with a new program, S.O.S. (Safe Online Surfing).

“One in five children are solicited online by an adult predator and only one percent is reported. We are just barely catching up with the bad folks and trying to make it better. Over 60,000 students have benefitted so far from this program,” Fuhrman said.

“There are many angels and heroes among us in the form of counselors, law enforcement personnel, employees and board members who have made this program at CARE House possible,” Fuhrman said.

The idea for CARE House came in 1985 when Baldwin County Department of Human Resources, BC Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office formed the multidisciplinary team to limit the lengthy and traumatic investigative process and decided a central location was needed to interview children, according to the CARE House website.

In 1989, a house was purchased in Bay Minette and an Executive Board and a Board of Directors was established to oversee the non-profit program with a mission to “provide resources and services to child victims of sexual abuse and severe physical abuse, their supportive family members and the community through a multidisciplinary team approach while empowering all toward child abuse prevention,” the website said.

Some of many services available at CARE House are :

“Kids and Co”, a multilevel abuse prevention curriculum adopted by the BC School System using three elements of Awareness (information), Assertiveness (decision-making) and Access (help when they need it). There is also a puppet show “Someone To Talk To” that goes along with the program.

“Transparenting”- educational seminar for divorcing parents and children addressing issues of the divorce process.

“Rollercoasters”- companion program to Transparenting for children 5-12 years old that gives ways to manage feelings, anger and develop coping skills.

“Solutions”- designed for youth to provide early intervention, education and treatment by therapists and gives the skills and tools necessary to recognize and manage their sexually aggressive behaviors.

Counseling services are also provided at no charge to the victim and family members and are available at both locations and include “Family Advocate”, designed to offer emotional support to the non-offending caregivers of sexually abused children. The program is also available to give help in finding referrals for job training, medical assistance, transportation and child-care.

“Court School” is also available to children and their families prior to a court appearance. it explains the judicial process and familiarizes them with the courtroom and helps to reduce the anxiety of the courtroom.

CARE House is also available to speak on a variety of topics to different groups related to prevention, i intervention and treatment of child abuse and neglect.

Being a nonprofit organization, they depend on donations and funding from the community in the form of monetary gifts, volunteering your time and services and donating basic supplies for both locations.

For more information on CARE House, contact Tika Gardner at (251) 580-2546 or visit their website at bccarehouse.org.

For monetary donations, mail to : CARE House, Inc., P.O. Box 874, Bay Minette, AL 36507.