Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County CEO Terri Smith smiles for a photo with keynote speaker Miss Texas Mallory Fuller at the Women of Courage local Texas Chapter inaugural luncheon on Thursday.

The Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County held an inaugural luncheon Thursday after launching one of the first local Women of Courage chapters in Texas.

The event, which took place at Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler, kicked off National Child Abuse and Prevention Month.

Several years ago, Children’s Advocacy Center Texas started the first chapter of Women of Courage to bring together women to provide support for the children served by the state’s 70 children’s advocacy centers, according to Deanna Sims, Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County chief development officer.

“Women of Courage is a membership organization to bring women together as ambassadors, leading the charge to stand behind children affected by abuse through creating awareness, promotion prevention activities and strengthening the work of the children’s advocacy center,” Sims said.

“Finding that this group became a network of advocates for the work being done in CACs, the idea was born that having local chapters might be a way to mobilize more leaders to share about children’s advocacy centers. So we launched one of the first local Women of Courage chapters in Texas.”

Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County Chief Executive Officer Terri Smith called the group of women “heroes.”

“This group of women, Women of Courage, will collectively impact our county in significant ways by their dedication to the clients served at children’s advocacy center, their desire to learn more and to share about our work. These women will sustain and strengthen our efforts to serve every child who needs us. They are heroes in the fight against abuse,” Smith said

Miss Texas Mallory Fuller was the keynote speaker at Thursday’s event.

“Mallory has mental health and suicide prevention as her platform and mission throughout her 2022 reign,” Sims said. “Smith County has the number one suicide rate in Texas, and statistics tell us that thoughts of suicide are one of the common side effects of child abuse.”

Sims talked about the importance of the work being done by Women of Courage and the advocacy center.

“We know that one out of every 10 children will be sexually abused by the time they are 18 years old,” she said. “We wrap our arms around the child and protective caregivers to offer services. We offer trauma focused therapy modalities to help children reach a place of healing, free from the devastating after-effects of the trauma.”

Sims said in its inaugural year, Women of Courage has raised more than $26,000 in memberships and continues to welcome more advocates to the group.

Anyone interested in becoming a 2022 Woman of Courage member can contact Deanna Sims at dsims@cacsmithcounty.org .

The mission of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County is to protect and restore the lives of abused children through team investigations, healing services, community outreach and strategic partnerships.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Texas Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252-5400, visit www.txabusehotline.org or notify local law enforcement.

For information about the Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County, call (903) 533-1880 or visit cacsmithcounty.org .