The month of April has been designated as both Child Abuse Prevention Month as well as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. April was first declared Child Abuse Prevention Month by Presidential proclamation in 1985. Since then, people and organizations who are dedicated to protecting children have used this special time of year to acknowledge the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse in all its forms. As Sexual Assault Awareness Month, April also brings an annual opportunity to focus awareness on sexual violence and its prevention and to highlight the efforts of individuals and agencies that provide rape crisis intervention and prevention services while offering support to sexual assault survivors, victims and their families. If you believe that someone you know may be a victim of child abuse or sexual assault, please contact one of the Victim Services Network agencies listed below to find out how you can help.

Agencies serving victims of child abuse and neglect:

· Child Advocates - Denver CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is a program which consists of volunteers who are appointed to abused and neglected children in the Juvenile Court System and then make recommendations to the judge for the children's long-term welfare. Simply put, CASA volunteers speak up for these children and help them find safe, permanent homes. To learn more about their services or to become a CASA volunteer, visit their website at: http://www.denvercasa.org/

· The Denver Children's Advocacy Center (DCAC) serves children who have been sexually abused, neglected, or traumatized by witnessing violence. Their goal is to ensure that every low-income child in Denver who has been traumatized by sexual abuse, or by witnessing homicide or domestic violence receives immediate, compassionate and effective investigation, assessment and, if needed, mental health treatment. DCAC never charges for its services. For more information about DCAC's services, please visit their website: http://www.denvercac.org/

· The Denver Department of Human Services is dedicated to protecting abused and neglected children and adults by making sure they live in safe environments. They provide counseling to individuals and families in crisis and connect people to community resources that can help them in a time of need. For contact information, please visit their website: http://www.denvergov.org/HumanServices

· Healing from the Heart offers short and long-term counseling services to youth and their families. They provide individual and group counseling, as well as psychoeducational programs with the goal of helping youth clients and their families heal from traumatic incidents, victimization, violence, and other adverse life experiences. For more information on Healing from the Heart, please visit their website: http://www.healingfromtheheart.org/

· Mount Saint Vincent provides services and programs for children with a wide range of emotional and behavioral problems that are preventing them from functioning to their full potential at home, in the community, or in school. Mount Saint Vincent also provides programs, services, classes, and other support for the family. To find out more about their services, visit Mount Saint Vincent's website: http://www.msvhome.org/. Also, read the article submitted by Mount Saint Vincent with tips on things you can do in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month.

· Project PAVE offers violence prevention education, school-based counseling, and clinical counseling. Their mission is to empower youth to end the cycle of relationship violence. The agency's goal is to stop the generational cycle of emotional, sexual, and physical abuse within families through violence prevention, education, and intervention services. To find out more about their services, visit their website at: http://www.projectpave.org/

Agencies serving victims of sexual assault:

· The Colorado Anti-Violence Program is dedicated to eliminating violence within and against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities in Colorado, and providing the highest quality services to survivors. They generally work with hate crimes and partner abuse, but they also have cases that involve random violence, sexual assault, and HIV-motivated violence. For information on their services, visit:http://www.coavp.org/

· Founded in 1983 in response to an absence of services for rape victims, the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program (RAAP--pronounced "rap") is metro-Denver's only rape crisis center. In addition to providing a comprehensive range of quality victim services, RAAP is a leader in educating the public about preventing sexual violence. To learn about RAAP's services, please visit their website: http://www.raap.org/

· The Sexual Assault Interagency Council (SAIC) is a collaborative effort formed to develop and implement standardized procedures among criminal justice, health, and victim service agencies that work with sexual assault victims. The overall goal of the council is to improve the reporting, investigation, and prosecution of sexual assault cases and to improve the delivery and coordination of support services for victims of sexual assault. To learn more about the council, visit their website at: http://denversaic.org

· WINGS assists survivors as they work to break the cycle and heal the wounds of childhood sexual abuse. This agency strives to promote healing through therapist facilitated peer support groups in which survivors are believed, accepted and are no longer alone. In addition to groups, they provide information and referral services, linking survivors to other resources in their communities. For more information, visit: http://www.wingsfound.org/

In addition to April being Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual assault Awareness Month, National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW) is also observed during this month. This year, Sunday April 13 - Saturday April, 19 has been designated as NCVRW. The Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance (COVA) will be sponsoring an event at the Wellington Webb Municipal Office Building (201 W. Colfax Ave.) on Monday, April 14 beginning at 11:30am in honor of NCVRW. For more information on this event and other NCVRW events in Colorado, please visit the COVA website: http://www.coloradocrimevictims.org