Reocation of Pike County Advocacy Network for Children funded by Health and Wellness Foundation of Pike County grant

PITTSFIELD, Ill. — An open house is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at the Advocacy Center in Pittsfield. Partner agencies, CASA volunteers and community members are invited to attend and tour the new facility. A light lunch will be provided to all guests.

Made possible through a $7,500 grant from the Health and Wellness Foundation of Pike County, Advocacy Network for Children has relocated its Pike County CASA and Children’s Advocacy Center to the Studio Building (west side entrance) at 120 Williams Industrial Dr. The move allows the center to gain additional room and greater accessibility for clients and CASA volunteers.

When CASA first began serving Pike County in 2018, it had five volunteers serving nine youths. Its outreach has grown to seven trained volunteers meeting the needs of 77 Pike County youths in the care of the court. CASA serves all children assigned by the court system for abuse or neglect regardless of income, race, or gender and range in age from newborn to age 18.

Advocacy Network for Children provides two programs for abused and neglected children. The CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program recruits, trains and supervises volunteers to speak in the best interest of abused and neglected children in the juvenile court system. The Children’s Advocacy Center provides a child-friendly, neutral environment where child victims of sexual abuse or severe physical abuse and their non-offending caretaker(s) meet with law enforcement, Department of Children and Family Services and state’s attorneys for investigation and provides a variety of advocacy and support to the child victim and non-offending caretaker(s).

For more information regarding the open house, call 217-223-2272 or visit the agency’s website at www.advonet.org.

The Health and Wellness Foundation of Pike County has made more than $1.5 million in grant awards since its inception more than 20 years ago to initiatives that impact Pike County’s most pressing physical, emotional and social health needs. The foundation is recognized as a 501(c)(3) public charity, solely serving the health and wellness needs of Pike County. Donations to HWFPC are fully tax-deductible as allowable by law.

For more information about their grant programs, health scholarships, community collaborations or how to donate, visit the foundation’s website at www.hwfpc.org or call the foundation office at 217-285-6080.