Bridge to cut ribbon on local office

The Bridge will host a ribbon cutting for the newest satellite office in Clarendon on Tuesday, September 30, at 10 a.m. at 111 W. 4th (next to the Post Office).

“Child abuse prevention is a community responsibility. Ending the cycle of abuse requires involvement, intervention and knowledge”, says April Leming, Executive Director of The Bridge.

The Clarendon location of The Bridge will primarily serve the communities of Carson, Donley, Childress, Collingsworth and Hall counties.

Leming says, “The Clarendon Lions Club suggested partnering and generously offered The Bridge space in their building in 2012 and now the office has become a reality”.

Generous donations from the following donors make the office possible Clarendon Lions Club, 100th District Attorney’s Office, Wendy and Andrew Bivins, Blake Bralley, Brent Bralley, Jeremy Brim, Pat Deckard, Dyron Howell, Lynn Johnston, Tommy and Sandra Rains, Cornelia Ritchie and the JA Ranch, Raelynn See and Brian Whaley.

“We are thankful for the community support we have received enabling us to open this facility and the investment which is being made in the future of children for this area “, Leming said. The Bridge works with multiple agencies in these counties including: 100th District Attorney’s, Carson County Sheriff’s Office, CASA of the High Plains, Children’s Protective Services, Childress County Sheriff’s Office, Childress Police Department, Collingsworth County Sheriff’s Office, Donley County Sheriff’s Office, Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Memphis Police Department, Panhandle Police Department, Texas Rangers and Tralee Crisis Center.

The Bridge Children’s Advocacy Center opened its doors in Amarillo in 1989 and was Texas’ first Children’s Advocacy Center. The Bridge is a comprehensive, child-focused program that offers a highly effective, one-stop approach to child abuse investigation. The facility allows law enforcement, child protective services, prosecutors and the mental health and medical communities to work together to best serve victims of child abuse and sexual assault. The center offers a comfortable, private, child-friendly setting where forensic interviews and sexual exams can be conducted.

Since its inception, The Bridge has provided child-sensitive services to more than 25,000 young victims and their families residing in the Texas Panhandle.

The child advocacy center provides the victim and their families with information and services so that the crime will not define their life.

The Bridge is not only focused on the coordinated investigation of the abuse and the prosecution of the offender, but also on the health and future of the child victim.