Erin Valenti

“Julia” is a sweet young girl who has tried her best to survive in a home where survival was easy for a child. Growing up with two parents who were addicted to methamphetamine, Julia experienced extreme neglect beginning at a young age. Child protection brought Julia to Voices Carry for a forensic interview. During the

A teenage girl named “Harmony” came to Voices Carry for a forensic interview after disclosing about sexual abuse perpetrated by her older brother. While the abuse had been happening for years, Harmony’s story only began to surface after a teacher suspected abuse. Some people in her household knew about the abuse, but no one supported Harmony.

A sweet 5-year-old girl named “Erin” visited Voices Carry for suspicion of abuse perpetrated by her single mother. Erin came to Voices Carry for her interview with extensive bruising and burn marks throughout her body. During the interview, we learned that the burn on her side came from a pan that her mother had been heating on the stove, and the

By Chiara Soth, Advocacy Intern Matt is a sweet 11-year-old boy who had the behavior and speech of a 7-year-old. Because this was one of my first experiences with a child victim of abuse, I assumed that he had a cognitive disability. However, after discussing his situation with the caseworker and forensic interviewer for his case,

Sometimes when a child visits Voices Carry for a forensic interview, he/she may not disclose the abuse experienced for a variety of reasons. “Aiden,” a shy 7-year-old boy with a big heart and love for dinosaurs, was afraid to tell his story about the abuse at home. He worried that talking about the physical and

Often, domestic violence occurs in the home at the same time as child abuse. When one parent is the abuser and the other parent is being abused, the children are left with no protection and are vulnerable to significant amounts of abuse. The home is supposed to be a safe place, but for victims of domestic