Mercy Outreach Ministry Draws a Line in the Sand Against Violence Upon Children

A recent story in AY Magazine, a local Arkansas publication, shines light on the work of Cooper-Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center, one of Mercy’s outreach ministries. Based in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the center is a safe, child-friendly environment where allegations of child abuse are treated with a caring, comprehensive, coordinated response. 

Since 2003, the team at Cooper-Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center (CAMCAC) has worked to deliver a comprehensive, coordinated response to child abuse. At their main center in Hot Springs plus satellite centers in Benton and Mena, CAMCAC provides individualized services free of charge, including forensic interviews and medical exams plus mental health services.

“The whole premise of a child advocacy center is putting the child first and ensuring that the child comes first, not the benefit of the investigator or the case or the outcome or the needs of an agency, but that the child would come first,” shares Tracey Childress, director.

In a story shared in AY Magazine, Tracey talks about the services CAMCAC provides following an allegation of abuse. She also highlights how the center has expanded over the years to provide community outreach and education on the topic of child abuse and shares how the prevention program has played a big role in lowering the rates of abuse overall. 

“We are equipping our children and teaching them prevention with this body safety program,” says Tracey. “This has had an exponential impact, because as we’re delivering this information to students, the teachers and the counselors and the superintendents and the principals are all becoming knowledgeable as they’re all receiving this information. It’s been just amazing to see the response from this.”