Sarah's Place, a place to heal

Members of the law enforcement, medical, legal and child advocacy communities came together last Wednesday, Oct. 27 to commemorate the foundation of Sarah’s Place, a child advocacy center intended to give victims of abuse the tools they need to stop abusive relationships and begin the process of healing.

Sarah’s Place was the result of three years of work on the part of members of the Sanders County Child Abuse Response Team.

The program is named in honor of a young woman from Heron named Sarah Guill, who underwent sexual and psychological abuse at the hands of her father, Douglass Guill, for over 16 years. The abuse began when Guill was no more than 6 years old, and continued into her early adulthood. Finally, Guill was able to escape the abusive relationship, and sought the help of county law enforcement. In the end, Guill’s father was convicted of five different felonies, and remains incarcerated to this day.

Guill, who currently lives in Spokane, Wash., courageously made her way back to Sanders County for the dedication.

For Sarah Guill, the experience, though nerve-wracking, was a positive one.

“I’m happy—very happy about it,” Guill said.

Guill first learned about the upcoming program through her counselor, and though her involvement was limited, Guill felt excited about the new program and the opportunity for healing that it would present. During the creation of the new child advocacy center, Guill’s counselor told her that program organizers would like to name the program after her, to which she said yes.

“I felt very honored,” Guill said.

Guill is excited about the new program, and hopes that it gives other people in abusive situations the chance to begin the process of healing.

“I hope they get the courage up to turn in people who are not being very nice to them,” Guill said.

The program was intended as a consolidation of resources in Sanders County to create an organization that is better equipped to deal with cases of child abuse efficiently and effectively, according to Deb Green, Executive Director of Family Medicine Network at the Clark Fork Valley Hospital.

In the past, medical personnel have received reports of incidences of abuse and have had to relay those reports to law enforcement officers. Facilitating coordination between these two organizations did not allow for the best treatment for the victim, according to Green. Green feels that that Sarah’s Place will bring together people with one goal.

“It makes sense to try to work with people who have the same understanding and care for the victim,” Green said.

A child advocacy center revolves around a multidisciplinary team. This team is comprised of professionals in law enforcement, medicine and psychology and counseling. Members of the team are specialized in dealing with cases of child abuse.

The Sarah’s Place facilities are incorporated into existing hospital facilities, but with a few enhancements. The Sarah’s Place child advocacy center includes a designated separate hospital entrance for victims and their loved ones, a separate waiting room, an interviewing room and reporting room equipped with state-of-the-art cameras and recording tools, and an examination room for treating victims and recording physical evidence.

According to Green, these facilities were put in place as a way to provide the professionals involved with the necessary resources while creating a safe space for victims and their loved ones, a space separate from the whirlwind of typical hospital activity. Facilities, including the additional entryway, are marked with the Sarah’s Place icon, and allow for as much privacy as possible.

In practice, Sarah’s Place is intended to provide a unified organization to deal with instances of child abuse. First, abuse is reported to the center. Then, interviews can be scheduled in the Sarah’s Place facilities. These interviews will be held by specially trained professionals who have experience in successfully interviewing children. From there, these interviews will be forensically analyzed in order to determine the facts of the case. Detective Chad Cantrell and Deputy Shawna Chenoweth of the Sanders County Sheriff’s Department will lend their expertise to the interviewing process. There will also be a medical examination as part of the case building process. The center will then take care of initiating any counseling for the victim, and law enforcement will be provided with any necessary information to bring a case against the alleged abuser.

Sarah’s Place was developed through the work of the Sanders County Child Abuse Response Team. CART is made up of Sanders County Attorney Coleen Magera, Deputy County Attorney Amy Kenison, Victim/Witness Assistant Duane Qualls, Child Protection Specialist Tamra Weltz of the Department of Public Health and Human Services, Detective Chad Cantrell and Deputy Shawna Chenoweth of the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office, Chiefs of Police Sean Emmett of Plains, Chuck Hammett of Thompson Falls and Brian Josephson of Hot Springs, CFVH Rural Health Clinic Manager Helen Daniels, Department of Correction Probation Technician Lynn Bierwagen, Sanders County Health Department Health Officer Cindy Morgan, Marcy Hanson, R.N., Sanders County Community Mental Health Center Director Eric Diamond, Sanders County Coalition for Families Program Director Gayle Serrat, Toni Jones, LCPC, and Deb Green with CFVH.

For Green, having such a qualified group of people working towards one goal under the umbrella of Sarah’s Place has been especially rewarding.

“It’s great to have such a good group of people to work with,” Green said.