Superior Child Advocacy Center opening to help young victims of abuse

MARQUETTE –The Superior Child Advocacy Center will soon have a place to call home.

The Advocacy Center’s mission is to make going through the system easier for child victims of physical and sexual abuse.

“Generally when a child victim comes into the system they have to tell their story to a school counselor, to a doctor, a policeman, to a lawyer, and then to a judge. It’s just reliving the story over and over again. The advocacy center seeks to minimize that, by letting the child tell their story one time. While all those people I mentioned observe from a different room,” said Hannah Syrjala, Fundraising Committee.

The building they will be moving to was bought by Tres Holistic and have generously gifted them a space in the building.

This space will help make it more efficient and less traumatic for the victims.

“We just want it to be better for the kids, for these victims to turn them into survivors. A large number of sexual abusers were sexually abused themselves. We want to break that cycle, by nipping it right at the cause. Just telling them, this is just a thing that happened to you. It does not define you,” Syrjala added.

It will also help in a prosecutory way.

“It helps build a solid case against the perpetrator. The entire team with the cops, counselors, DHHS and prosecutors are all on the same page. Everybody has the same information; it helps build a stronger a case to hold these perpetrators accountable,” said Syrjala.

This Saturday April 13th they are hosting the Superior Child Advocacy Center Lead the Way 5K Fun Run fundraiser.

All of the money made will help fund their new center in downtown Marquette.

For more information about the 5K click HERE.