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Community Partners – Eight Cousins Bookshop

October 19th, 2021

Nationally 1 in 5 children in the United States will be a victim of sexual abuse, physical abuse, parental neglect, or witness to domestic violence. These are called adverse childhood experiences, which can lead to lifelong challenges socially, physically, and emotionally. It is our community’s responsibility to take an active role in preventing child abuse and neglect as well as promoting healthy and safe families.

Having the conversation with children about difficult topics can be daunting for parents and caregivers. How do you start? How should you talk? How do you answer tough questions? Jumping right into conversations about body safety can seem overwhelming, so we wanted to make this process a little easier for parents and caregivers by using a resource widely available to everyone: books.

Over the last few years Children’s Cove and Eight Cousins Bookshop developed a list of books carrying the themes of challenges many children may face to assist parents in having difficult discussions. Using beautifully written and illustrated books can make these discussions a little easier.

Below are just a couple of examples, and if you would like more suggestions for books and themes, click here. If you are looking for a certain theme or book to read with your child, you can always reach out to our community partners at Eight Cousins.

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Welcome to the Team

September 1, 2021

The team at Children’s Cove was joined this month by two outstanding professionals to support the mission of the organization. Over the last several years, Children’s Cove has seen a steady increase of referrals from our multidisciplinary partners across Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. In the organizations 24-year history Children’s Cove has grown in its ability to provide and coordinate best practice services to child victims of sexual abuse and crime, as well as their non-offending caregivers. Included in this growth, in 2016 Children’s Cove became the hub for coordinating the best-practice response to human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children cases in the area, which are also on the rise. While the number of referrals to Children’s Cove were down due to the impact of COVID-19 in 2020, since January of 2021 referrals agencies are on pace for the highest amount in the organization’s history.

To meet this rising need Children’s Cove has increased staffing, restructured some positions internally and have hired Alexandra Foley as the CSEC Case Manager / Forensic Interviewer, and Kathy Fayerberg as the Family Services Coordinator. Both are joining the Victims Services team and will working directly with child victims and their non-offending caregivers to support their healthiest outcomes.

Alexandra Foley joins Children’s Cove after working for the Justice Resource Institute (JRI) as a Family Networks Service Coordinator and Intensive Care Coordinator. Alexandra holds a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Lesley University and will be coordinating with multi-disciplinary team members the response to concerns and reports of human trafficking of children on Cape Cod and the Islands. Alexandra will also conduct forensic interviews as a matter of special investigations for high-risk youth and victims of CSEC.

Kathy Fayerberg joins Children’s Cove as the Family Services Coordinator after providing individual and family therapy at Gosnold Inc.’s school-based programs. Kathy received a master’s degree in clinical social work from Boston University and will support the mission of Children’s Cove by providing support for children and families served through psychological first aid and psychoeducation relating to the impact of traumatic experiences. Kathy will also connect children and families with needed resources and supports in the community, as well as information regarding the investigative and justice process.

Stacy Gallagher, Director of Children’s Cove, is excited for the new additions and ways in which the team is moving forward to support the community. “While it is concerning that we are seeing such an increase in cases across the region, our community can rest assured that Children’s Cove will have a greater ability to respond to children and families who have been victims of crime.”

To learn more about Children’s Cove, our history, current staff members and how to contact them please click here.

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The Little Things Add up

August 20, 2021

As families prepare for the fall and back to school, the to-do list begins to add up faster than items can be checked off. And for those with children, the cost of those to do lists can really add up. Fortunately, we live in communities across Cape Cod & the Islands which can provide some support with a variety of needs. Whether it is backpacks and school supplies, coats, food, rental assistance, or more we live in a community which cares. Each of the following organizations are just some offering support for families in need across Cape Cod and the Islands, feel free to reach out to learn more.

Cape Cod Family Resource Center, Hyannis   Back to school supplies and back packs, coats, access to other supportive services. Greater Cape Cod area.

Family Resource Center, Nantucket   Back to school supplies and back packs, coats, access to other supportive services. All of Nantucket

Island Wide Youth Collaborative, Martha’s Vineyard   Back to school supplies and back packs, coats, access to other supportive services. All of Martha’s Vineyard

A Baby Center, Hyannis, Nantucket   Providing clothing, formula, diapers, toys or other needs for children 0-5. Support for greater Cape Cod and Nantucket.

Cape Cod Children’s Place, Eastham (lower and outer Cape)   Providing numerous supports and services for children 0+: childcare, early learning, clothing, shoes, back to school supplies, books, and more. Services provided to the lower and Outer Cape, and some services beyond those areas Cape wide.

Homeless Prevention Council, Orleans   Back to school supplies and back packs, food access, housing support and outreach support and more. Services to the lower Cape and beyond.

Housing Assistance Corporation, Yarmouth   Housing support and assistance.

Family Pantry of Cape Cod, Harwich   Food resources for families and pets in need of healthy food options across the lower cape. Also providing some support for school supplies and clothing.

Falmouth Service Center, Falmouth   Providing food, clothing, financial assistance, and pet food to community members and homebound individuals in the greater Falmouth area.

Cape Cod Brite Lights, Inc, Yarmouth   Providing confidential food support, backpacks and school supplies to families of Yarmouth.

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Preparing for fun, and safety: Summer Camps on the Cape & Islands

July 16, 2021

Every summer, the Cape & Islands receives an influx of thousands of visitors, vacationers, and campers. Also included in this influx are the staff people who support our local economy and the children who live, vacation and camp here. For several years, Children’s Cove has provided comprehensive and free training to those team members who support the kids and teens in our community. The relationships formed over summer camp are strong and often last long beyond the days of July and August. Typically, camp counselors are younger individuals, who are just beginning their careers and often form bonds with the kids and teens they support. Because of this, it is critical that these counselors understand that they may become a trusted confidante to the campers, who may disclose something in their life which would require supportive action.

By educating counselors on how to effectively recognize, respond and report child abuse, we are taking steps to mitigate the stigma of abuse and increase prevention. There is a strong feeling of responsibility when told as a staff member that you are what is known as a “mandated reporter” as well as feelings of fear and concern of what you would need to do in those moments. By providing training in how to respond in an empathetic, developmentally appropriate, and honest way, we increase the likelihood a child or teen will get the support they deserve.

While the last year has been difficult to conduct as many community-based trainings as in previous years, we were able to reconnect with several of our ongoing community partners for this summer season. This year, Children’s Cove provided training to the YMCA of Cape Cod, the Nantucket Community School ACKventures program, the Martha’s Vineyard YMCA, Camp Good News and the Martha’s Vineyard Boys & Girls Club. We are grateful to provide support and education to such great organizations serving the children who live and visit our community. Thank you for having us!

If you are interested in having a free training for your organization, team, or community please contact Jacob Stapledon to learn more.

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Community Partners – Cape Cod Collaborative

May 18, 2021

May is National Teacher Appreciation Month, and we could never have enough time to thank the incredible schools, teachers, guidance counselors, principals, superintendents, and school staff we work with across the Cape & Islands! Therefore, we will instead feature just one group to thank, the Cape Cod Collaborative and their STAR program team in Osterville.

The Cape Cod Collaborative STAR Program is a public day school for students who require a structured program with high levels of support. The students are referred by their home districts and necessitate additional services for their education and personal growth. These includes support for cognitive, communication, social, and emotional or behavioral (including those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder) needs.

Individuals who require these types of specialized services, or who have complex physical, mental health or developmental diagnoses, are at significantly higher risk for physical and sexual abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Over the last few years, the Cape Cod Collaborative teams have coordinated with Children’s Cove to organize numerous trainings for their staff, teachers, and aids. They have learned how to better recognize and respond to child abuse and sexual exploitation and to identify behaviors that indicate something may be wrong, even when a child has difficulty in communicating. Additionally, they learned to partner and coordinate with Children’s Cove on difficult situations for the health and support of their students.

We would also like to thank the Cape Cod Collaborative’s Leadership team, who began the process of gaining insight and addressing challenges related to secondary trauma for their team members. They recognized that many of their staff experienced increased stress levels and burnout from listening to students discussing their trauma histories, and, at times, having to work through some very challenging situations. As a result, the leadership team has increased access to wellness activities for the staff and has started committees for an internal staff newsletter to share good news and triumphs, applaud outstanding work, and participate in fun activities, such as “silly hat” or “wild hair” days. In addition, Children’s Cove has provided training and assessments for the impacts of vicarious and secondary-traumatic stress for its staff members and is working with their teams to build capacity.

The ‘S’ in STAR stands for self-care, and the team at the Cape Cod Collaborative has been working hard to ensure that their staff are able to engage in meaningful self-care while providing high-quality education to students with diverse needs during a global pandemic. We appreciate not only the teachers, aids, staff, and administration at the Cape Cod Collaborative, but also our partnership to support the children in their care.

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Different Missions, Shared Vision

April 15, 2021

Children’s Cove works to raise awareness about the issues related to crimes against children. Fortunately, we are joined by hundreds of other professionals across the Cape & Islands who also serve the vulnerable in our community. The last year of remote schooling has posed a threat to children who are at risk at home, because they are not surrounded by safe adults and mandated reporters. Instances of domestic and sexual violence, as well as child abuse, exploitation and online exploitation have magnified with isolation from social and community connections. During Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, it is essential to raise visibility of the services available to our community.

If you are aware of any child or person in an unsafe situation, there is a community of professionals who have made it their mission to help. Please reach out. Everyone should live in a community free of abuse.

If you are in immediate danger call or text 9-1-1

No matter what has happened, no matter what someone has said, no matter your fears: You are not alone. You have not done anything wrong, and you are not in trouble. Ask for help. There is an entire community that believes you.

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