The Heart of the Matter: Together We Can Advocate for Hope

One of our missions at CSP is to support local charities and nonprofits that help build a stronger community. Each quarter, we select an organization – usually from organizations that either our agents or clients are personally involved with – to donate a portion of our quarterly profits. 

This quarter, we are proud to once again support the important work of The Carousel Center (TCC), our region’s only child advocacy center. CSP’s owner, Tricia Delp Ireland, had first learned about the mission of TCC while previously assisting two wonderful clients with a purchase of a new home downtown. Ireland had learned that one client sits on the board of directors at TCC and was subsequently invited to take a tour of the facility. “At the time,” says Ireland, “we had already chosen our charity of the quarter but, after the tour, I wrote a check on the spot. I immediately recognized that this place was quite special and, unfortunately, a much-needed service in our community.”

Frederick Douglass once said, “It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” TCC’s most important service for a child victim is to build strong children through the healing process. Without effective therapeutic intervention, many child victims of physical/sexual abuse and/or neglect will suffer ongoing or long-term consequences that may impact them for a lifetime. TCC’s licensed therapists have extensive training and experience in child abuse, child depression and anxiety as well as in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), child and family traumatic stress intervention (CFSTI) and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TFCBT).

TCC’s child-friendly facilities in Wilmington and Supply are places in which law enforcement, child protection, prosecution, mental health, medical and victim-advocacy professionals work together to investigate abuse, help children heal from abuse and hold offenders accountable.

It shouldn’t hurt to be a child. And although many things have come to a halt this past year, sadly, child abuse has not stopped due to the pandemic. Experts fear that multiple stressors – isolation, wage and job loss, psychological challenges and health issues – are driving up child abuse and neglect cases. Shadowed by COVID-19 prevention measures over the last year, less abuse/neglect cases were being reported as fewer children were showing up at child care centers, schools and doctor’s offices – all places where signs of abuse are historically recognized.

Ireland has toured TCC’s Wilmington location three times to date and says, “I cannot get through the tour without tears in my eyes - because of the realization that a facility like this is necessary and because of the incredibly important work these caring, dedicated professionals do. Since the first tour, TCC has remained in our charitable giving program, as a recipient of donations and our continued sponsorship of The Heart of the Matter & Tinman Awards and the Spring Gala fundraising events.”  

As part of the 2021 Annual Heart of the Matter & Tinman Awards Virtual Event from now until April 10th, we invite you to join us in raising funds to support TCC so that they can continue to help build resilience in child abuse survivors and provide exceptional service to the children and/or their families in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties. Be an advocate for HOPE!

Use this link to donate: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/hotm21/classification/259580/?fbclid=IwAR3Ba4qN75-7sbIls69_cr5yQW5zsxqVKTe4oppmdhKc3uPKb8XS41hjLKc

 

For more information about The Carousel Center, visit https://carouselcenter.org.