Alliance For Children

Evidence tells us that when you have age-appropriate conversations about their body with your children, they can spot signs of grooming and protect themselves from individuals who try to touch them inappropriately. For Love Your Body Day, we ask you to have a conversation with your child about body safety. 🫶 Don’t know where to start? Visit our website where we have tips on how to address this hard and uncomfortable topic with your child: https://loom.ly/uLYQ00c

Thank you to St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Arlington for blessing the Tarrant County families we serve through their community service project, “Harvest for Hope!” Their parishioners donated coloring books, journals, colored pencils, bubbles, fidget/sensory toys, travel-sized toiletries, packaged snacks, and other items to assemble “coping kits” which help children regulate their emotions, practice healthy coping techniques, and relieve stress. We had some help from our friends with Arlington Police Department, who assisted with organizing and delivering the donations. Thank you to ALL who helped make Harvest for Hope a big success to support vulnerable children in our community!

One of our littlest citizens demonstrated that age is not a restriction on making a difference in our community. When a 1st grader learned about the children in our county that in emergencies must leave their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs, she knew she wanted to do something to help. She worked to develop a fundraiser at her school where she organized emergency toiletry kits, clothing items, and activities to go directly to those children who come through our center as they await emergency placement because of unsafe situations at home. We are so grateful for her kind heart and compassion for our mission! 💙💚💜

Every person deserves a safe and comfortable place to sleep, especially our kids. To reduce risks and promote safe sleep, families should provide their kiddos with proper (and safe!) places to sleep, such as cribs and beds with fitted sheets, and should avoid bed-sharing. Everyone -- including the tiniest humans -- deserves the right to safe sleep! 🛏️💤 In effort to reduce risks and promote sleep, check out our Amazon Wishlist to provide our kids and families with proper beds: https://loom.ly/204BcCM

A few of our staff members attended the Mental Health Connection at Tarrant County's Self-Care Symposium last week where they learned about how to manage stress through prioritizing themselves, connecting with others, and inspiring joy. At Alliance For Children, we understand the importance of self-care and finding pockets of peace while continuing to help in the fight against child abuse in Tarrant County. 💙

Julie Evans joined her peers from Children’s Advocacy Center across the nation at this year’s Urban Forum hosted by The Child Advocacy Center of Greater Rochester. This is a great time of learning from each other and sharing resources from those running urban centers in other states. It is remarkable to hear the stories of life changing work on behalf of children. We are proud to be a part of this amazing network.

We received our first holiday donation from 444 Angel, a nonprofit organization dedicated to brightening the lives of children in need! A huge thank you to Kevin Howell and Mark Hanna with 444 Angel for donating 25 brand-new bicycles for our Christmas Connection pop-up shop. Protective caregivers will be given the opportunity to “shop” our store for toys and gifts for each child in their care. Thank you 444 Angel for providing some holiday magic to the Tarrant County kids and teens we serve! 🎄🎁

Julie Evans, CEO, was thrilled to join Leslie Deen, CEO of the Ellis County Children’s Advocacy Center, to hear Congressman Jake Ellzey speak about his commitment to our community. We are grateful for his support of our work and of so many other worthy organizations serving victims of crime. Thank you also to our Board Member, Larry Mike, for propelling our agency forward to better serve children and families.

I think we can all agree that one fatality from violence is too many. Alliance For Children is honored to partner with our peers in this fatality review. Through reflection and contemplation, we can identify trends that inform education and outreach efforts to our greater community in hopes of preventing such violence. As stated so beautifully by SafeHaven of Tarrant County -We see you. We hear you. We will change for the better.

In 2023, six lives were lost in Tarrant County due to intimate partner violence. The six homicides mark the lowest number of domestic violence homicides in our county since at least 2016, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙭 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮. We dedicate the 2023 Tarrant County Intimate Partner Violence Fatality Review Report to these six women and their children, family members, and friends. May the findings from this report create change in the systems victims use every day to survive. We see you. We hear your story. We will change for the better. Fatality Review Partners: SafeHaven of Tarrant County Arlington Police Department Fort Worth Police Department Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells JPS Health Network Alliance For Children Texas Health Resources Baylor Scott & White Health MedStar Mobile Healthcare Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Tarrant County Medical Examiner