The Lotus Center is a designated children's advocacy and sexual violence resource center serving the Purchase area of Kentucky. Tracy Ross speaks with Lotus Center's Communications and Development Director, Caroline Neal, about the many services the Lotus Center offers.
"All of our services are provided free of charge," Neal begins. "Victims of child abuse and their families, survivors of sexual violence, we serve everyone of all ages at no cost."
"We provide therapy services, legal advocacy, personal and family advocacy to navigate the needs that a family or individual has. We also offer restorative services. We also provide medical advocacy. So, if a survivor presents at the hospital, we have advocates who are on call 24/7 to accompany them to the hospital to get a sexual assault forensic exam if they choose to."
Neal says that Lotus Center's services are "just a phone call away. Our 24-hour helpline is a resource that anyone can use, whether they have concerns, if they think their child might have experienced abuse, or if they're a suvivor and they want to know what their options are. Regardless of when it happened, they can call our 24-hour helpline to get help."
These services are offered to individuals from newborn to age 99, Neal continues. "As the designated children advocacy and sexual violence resource center, it's our role to partner with caregivers and parents and survivors to find a path to hope, healing, and growth. For adult survivors, that looks like determining needs and figuring out what the suvrivor wants and needs in terms of their safety, healing, and justice. For families, that means providing the resourcs they need to hope, heal, and grow."
"We're always seeking volunteers to help support our mission," Neal says. "Our volunteers may provide medical advocacy and crisis response. They may assist with other restorative services. They may serve on our Survivors' Council, which helps our community outreach."
"They also might support with some of the things behind the scenes—making sure our outdoor sanctuary is a tranquil environment for children and families who come to visit. Also, administrative support—special skills might include assisting with fundraising and other things to enhance day-to-day operations."
"Beyond volunteering, there are a few other ways our community can support. That includes giving monthly. Our monthly donors are a huge part of what sustains our mission. Whether it's five or fifty dollars a month, every little bit helps the survivors, children, and families that we serve."
"We also offer opportunities for the community to learn and help be a part of preventing child abuse and sexual violence. That includes our Darkness to Light Stewards of Children trainings. Those trainings are offered at no cost. They're about two and a half hours long. We have a couple coming up in the next couple of months, and those can be found on our website at HopeHealGrow.org."
"Child abuse and sexual violence are serious issues that have a profound impact on our community. But we know that prevention is possible, and it takes every single one of us to prevent those from happening in the firstplace. We can act on our shared responsibility every day by choosing words and actions that support kindness and inclusivity and don't tolerate interpersonal violence."
"We're ecited to share with our community that Men Who Cook, our signature event, will be coming back in 2023. We'll be sharing more information about that on our website, HopeHealGrow.org," Neal concludes.
For more information on the Lotus Center, visit its website.
Hear the full interview here:
