Addie’s Place to have open house Jan. 23

DOUBLE SPRINGS — Addie’s Place Child Advocacy Center, serving both Winston and Marion counties, is developing its first five-year strategic plan and seeking public input during its open house planned for Thursday, Jan. 23.
The open house will be held from 2-6 p.m. at the center, located at 26789 Highway 195 in Double Springs, and will feature attendance by local, county, state and even federal officials, as well as tours of the facility.
However, the mission of the open house is to inform officials and the general public about the main mission of Addie’s Place, as well as to generate input from the public, according to Debra Baird, chairperson of the Addie’s Place board of directors.
“We really need to get our message out,” Baird stated. “We haven’t done that in the past as much as we should have. It’s extremely important because we have so many children here in need, both in Marion and Winston County.”
During the open house, committees for focus groups will hopefully be developed that will go out in the communities and talk with people about specifics that will be discussed for the five-year plan, Baird explained.
Currently, this process is already underway with Diane Watson, Addie’s Place executive director, and Brittany Bailes, Addie’s Place program manager/counselor, according to Baird.
“We want to talk with all of our stakeholders and be sure they know what to expect and what they would like to have as services from us,” said Baird.
This five-year strategic plan is a key to making sure that those ages 3-18, who are interviewed by Addie’s Place officials in relation to sexual or physical abuse, have a voice that can be a tool for law enforcement and the district attorney’s office in solving such crimes, according to Addie’s Place officials.
Addie’s Place provides children being interviewed a calming, relaxing setting, so the person being interviewed will feel comfortable and can confide in the person doing the interview in order to provide necessary information, Addie’s Place employees stated.
“Both Brittany and Diane are doing an excellent job on knowing how to work with children and what to say,” Baird emphasized.
Addie’s Place opened in 2018, under the umbrella of the Cramer Children’s Center in Florence, Watson explained.  In October, 2023, Addie’s Place became self-sufficient as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, Watson added.
“We had all intentions of doing an open house right after we got our stand-alone status, but we failed to do so,” Watson said. “We got caught up in getting  everything organized.”
As a stand-alone agency, Addie’s Place is responsible for obtaining grants and any outside funding to help with operations and any related expenses, Watson said.
Addie’s Place has been able to continue operations through funding by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, which goes toward expenses, as well as employee salaries, she added.
“When law enforcement gets a case or a referral or a call, whether it’s sexual abuse or physical abuse, or maybe a child who has witnessed a crime, they contact us to do a child forensic interview,” Watson explained.  “That way, the child is only interviewed one time. They don’t have the prosecuting attorney interviewing them, law enforcement and/or DHR. The interview is witnessed by law enforcement, DHR and/or the DA’s office, if they choose to come and watch.”
These forensic interviews are recorded for future reference by these key agencies, according to Watson.
“The child only has to tell their story once,” she noted. “They don’t have to continue to be re-traumatized by telling the story over and over again.”
The goal of gathering the necessary information from these forensic interviews is to help prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes, according to Addie’s Place officials.
Interviewers are trained by the forensic interview model provided by the National Child Advocacy Center, teaching how to build a rapport with the child, Watson explained.
“The goal of Addie’s is to help the victim, allowing the unknown to be made known, so there are no surprises,” noted Bailes, who also helps with interviewing and counseling services.
To learn more about Addie’s Place, visit their Facebook page.