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The Black Belt Regional Child Advocacy Center was presented with the deed to their building on Tuesday, Dec 7. J.R. Rivas, owner of Soggy Bottom and Personal Touch Landscaping, purchased the building, and he presented the deed to the center.

The Child Advocacy Center opened in January and provides services to children who are victims of abuse or have witnessed violent crimes. It also provides support to their families and brings together professionals who are responsible for the investigation and prosecution of these cases.

Director of the Child Advocacy Center Charlotte Webb, said she has been wanting a center for 32 years. When District Judge Vince Deas approached her in 2018, she jumped at the chance to open a center in Demopolis.

“This is the greatest blessing this circuit could have ever gotten,” said Webb. “We were without a Child Advocacy Center for far too long.”

The center has worked with 45 children since its opening. Most of those children have come from Marengo County, but some have come from nearby counties such as Greene or Sumter, and some have come from as far away as Texas.

Like other businesses across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected several other CAC’s within the state.

“When COVID-19 hit in March, it put most of the CAC’s statewide down for weeks,” said Webb. “But we never went down. We agreed that we would keep doing interviews as long as there were children out there that needed those interviews.”

The Child Advocacy Center is currently open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and is located at 208 North Strawberry Ave. The center can be reached at 334-654-5098 and at bbrcac@gmail.com.