Being able to reach and help more people in a community is very important and getting the word out to let people know where they can find this help is equally important. And that is what the Family Crisis Center did on Thursday.
The Family Crisis Center held a meet and greet for people of the community to get to know its new employees and get a better understanding of the expansion that is happening at the center.
“We are very excited to talk about some of the things that are happening at the Family Crisis Center,” Executive Director Laura Patzner said.
Not only has the center expanded its reach, it has also upgraded its service in Pratt with a new location providing more space and better access to its clients along with resources to hire an additional outreach advocate to serve south central Kansas.
The center has opened a new center in Larned, for which a new outreach advocate and a sexual violence program advocate were hired.
The center has also hired two new employees to help the need of this community.
“These new positions will create more access to services for survivors and our leadership team is focusing on more visibility to make sure survivors and community members know we are here and how we can help,” Patzner said.
Rachel Angel was rehired as the program director for the Child Advocacy Center.
Angel had worked for the Crisis Center for over a year as a family advocate, and has a master’s degree in criminal justice with a focus on victim advocacy.
She has also completed the ChildFirst training for forensic interviewers, along with the Kansas Academy for Victim Assistants.
“Throughout my professional career, I have always been an advocate in some capacity,” Angel said. “Advocacy is where my heart is and I am looking forward to expanding our services in a much larger capacity including hands-on services, community education and prevention and community awareness.”
The other new hire is Joanne Wondra, who was hired as the community engagement coordinator, she will be responsible for recruiting, training and supporting volunteers.
“It is my goal with this new position to bring awareness of the need for volunteers in our community. In a perfect world we would be free from domestic and sexual violence, abuse and neglect,” Wondra said. “But until then, we will strive daily to improve the lives of women and children that seek our services. My wish is to truly empower the women that come to us.”
A new service has been added as well. AllState Financial Empowerment addresses financial abuse.
The center was established 30 years ago, and it was established to provide safety to families that could not find it in their own homes.
Since that time, it is estimated that the center has provided services to over 25,000 survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in central and south-central Kansas.
For more information about the Family Crisis Center or either of its two programs, the Domestic and Sexual Violence Center or the Child Advocacy Center, go online at www.familycrisiscntr.org or call 620-793-9941.