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New Child Advocacy Centre opens in Barrie

Facility is one stop assistance for abuse victims and their families

A yellow ribbon cutting marked a new beginning for child abuse investigations in Barrie.

A new Child Advocacy Centre has opened on Cedar Pointe Drive and is a much-needed sibling to the Child Advocacy Centre Simcoe Muskoka located in Orillia.

Both Centres feature a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach from almost every angle of child abuse investigations.

The new Barrie facility features child-friendly interview rooms, a warm reception area and geographically improved access to help for children and families in the Barrie area and beyond.

"It's a new day," said Barrie Police Chief Kimberley Greenwood, adding the centre will provide help in a 'timely and seamless approach.'

"These investigations are often very unsettling and very stressful and I hope that if you're able to deliver the service in one location that we're able to reduce some of the trauma that has occurred," said Greenwood.

The centre is equipped with investigative interview equipment and will ensure children only have to tell their stories once, not many times to different agencies.

Barrie Police average about two investigations every day, according to Sgt. Val Gates. 

Gates says the new centre in Barrie eliminates the fragmentation of the old system.

"They might have to tell it a couple of different times before we get everything we need. Here, we are all coming to them. The mutli-disciplinary approach. They're going to tell it once. They're going to tell it in a child friendly environment and we are going to provide that continuum of care so that youth will get what they need to get them through the next couple of years until that trial."

 

 

 


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Sue Sgambati

About the Author: Sue Sgambati

Sue has had a 30-year career in journalism working for print, radio and TV. She is a proud member of the Barrie community.
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