I read the following story in today's Columbia Daily Tribune and thought it important enough to pass along to any gentle readers of this site. It has to do with a funding shortfall for an important function of the Rainbow House, a local children's emergency shelter.

Please read the full story and if you're able, give, and regardless, pass along to any who might be able to. An excerpt:

A wing of the Rainbow House emergency shelter is home to a special place where children can go to talk about things that are sometimes hard to say.

If necessary, a doctor or nurse examines them. Sometimes they get a warm bath and a clean set of clothes. Always, they are made comfortable in a room designed with boys and girls in mind.

The room features stuffed animals and toy cars, happy pictures on the walls and furniture built to accommodate little people.

The Regional Child Advocacy Center was created to give young victims of sexual and physical abuse a safe place to talk with trained professionals about what happened to them.

Jan Stock, Rainbow House executive director, said last year 250 children from nine Missouri counties were taken to the child advocacy center inside the shelter’s 12,000-square-foot facility at 1611 Towne Drive. The children are referred to the center by sheriff’s departments, prosecutor’s offices and police.

So far this year, the number of young victims needing help is up. Last month, 21 children were taken to the regional center for services, Stock said.

But funding for the center is down.

Labels: Culture