News
County Marks Opening Of Child Advocacy Center
By John Burton
FREEHOLD - It is a building no one wanted to need. But nevertheless, the need exists, and now Monmouth County has a new facility to assist families and children who have been victims of criminal abuse.
As rain, wind and chilly temperatures threatened, state, county and local officials gathered on Burlington Road last Monday to commemorate the opening of the Monmouth County Child Advocacy Center.
The center, located just off Kozloski Road in Freehold Township, has been in the making for more than 25 years as government officials and others in the community have worked to raise funds for the facility.
Area officials and those involved with the Friends of the Monmouth County Child Advocacy Center conducted the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the site and the completion of Phase I of the project.
The center was designed to be child- and family-friendly and to offer a haven for society's most vulnerable.
"All these broke, wounded souls," who would need the services of the facility, offered the Rev. John P. Bambrick, in his invocation for the ceremony, "are our children."
The facility, Bambrick said, is, "a place where we speak for all who cannot speak."
"Unfortunately, I wish we were not here for this," said state Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini (R-11). But, she added, it is good to know that it exists for those who pass through its doors, at, "the most vulnerable time in their lives."
While the crowd in front of the structure shivered on the raw morning, Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders Director Barbara McMorrow assured them, "In our hearts I know there is sunshine and warmth today," because of the work that will be done to address the wounds of abuse. And while it may be too late to help many in the county who have been victims of abuse in the past and now carry those scars, "It's not too late for the many children who will seek refuge within these walls."
"The question is what did we build here?" asked former Monmouth County Prosecutor John Kaye. In answering his own question, Kaye said, "For me this is a symbol that we love our kids and are dedicated to protect them."
According to Martin Krupnick, chairman of the Friends of the Monmouth County Child Advocacy Center, the vision for the center began a quarter of a century ago with Kaye, who, as prosecutor, established a task force specifically to address these crimes and took up the cause of creating a center to address the victims' needs and provide the necessary services for them and for law enforcement and counselors. That mission was taken up by Kaye's successor, Luis A. Valentin, Krupnick said.
The project broke ground almost exactly two years ago, on property donated by the freeholders. Phase I, which involved most of the hard construction costs, totaling approximately $2.24, was paid for through a combination of federal, state and county money, and through the fundraising efforts of the Friends organization, and through other efforts like area schools, Krupnick said.
Phase II would be to complete some additional work, including creating therapy rooms and medical area, and to cover the costs of soft expenses related to the project, Krupnick explained.
His organization, Krupnick said, plans to continue its fundraising efforts to complete the project expected to cost roughly $6 million in total.
