New Carson City Rural Child Advocacy Center to provide support services to area children impacted by violent crime, abuse and exploitation
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Wed, 03/06/2024 - 2:14pm
The northern rural counties of Nevada have historically offered limited child advocacy services, leaving children and their families who have been victims of violent crime, abuse, and exploitation with fewer resources and less support than their urban counterparts.
Local philanthropists Jan and Dave Marson and their Foundation, Serving Our Communities, decided to rectify that and create the Carson City Rural Child Advocacy Center, which officially launched on February 24, 2024.
Children residing in the northern rural counties (including Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Humboldt, Lyon, Mineral, Pershing, Storey) that are suspected victims of child abuse or exploitation will now be able to receive individualized, trauma-informed care in a comfortable and safe setting in the new CCRCAC within the historic Norcross House at 412 N. Division Street, just a short distance from a bus stop on Route 3. The CCRCAC will also be open evenings and weekends to better accommodate families.
The CCRAC will be designed to be a child-friendly space, utilizing a multi-disciplinary team approach to providing family advocacy services, forensic interviewing services, and specialized medical and mental health services.
The CCRCAC will use a multi-disciplinary approach to victim support and advocacy involves collaboration between professionals from law enforcement, child protective services, the District Attorney’s office, medical and mental health providers, victim advocates, forensic interviewers.
The health care providers at CCRCAC will have specialized training and expertise, and the facility will be quipped with state-of-the art technology, furnishings, and decor designed to offer comfort and security to children and their families.
In February of 2023, the Carson City Sheriff’s Office started outreach efforts to gain community support for the establishment of a Child Advocacy Center in Carson City that would serve the northern rural counties. Later that year, Serving Our Communities Foundation committed to sponsoring the project, providing $250,000 plus a pledge for a matching gift of $250,000 in July of 2025.
In addition, the Marson Family Trust and Serving Our Communities Foundation purchased the historic Norcross House in Carson City, provided technical infrastructure, and funded the necessary improvements to the building prior to the CCRCAC opening in the Summer of 2024.
The CCRCAC has received support from many community leaders, including the Carson City Mayor and District Attorney, and the District Attorneys and Sheriffs in the rural counties.
We are encouraging local business and community members to donate towards the creation of the CCRCAC. In January 2024, SOC Foundation was awarded $600,000 grant from the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to Enhance Child Advocacy Centers within the Rural Region to support staff development and services.
Jan Marson, Founder of Serving Our Communities Foundation, believes the CCRCAC fills a gap in services for children and families in the region.
“We recognize the overwhelming need for the Carson City Rural Child Advocacy Center and believe that this project embodies our Foundation’s goals and values.” She added, “We are committed to creating a safe, respectful, effective and healing environment for children and families in need and aim to establish a center that not only meets but exceeds the expectations and needs of the communities served, paving the way for a future where every child and family has access to the care and support they deserve.”
To contact the CCRAC, reach out to Jan Marson at Jan@SOCFoundation.com, or call her at 775 453-6503. To donate to the CCRCAC, go to https://donorbox.org/child-advocacy-center.
About Serving Our Communities
Founded by Jan Marson in 2020, Serving Our Communities Foundation is a family foundation that partners with diverse leaders to provide community and workforce development, public health, and educative initiatives through the lens of occupational science, across Nevada and Missouri.
After selling their company to KIND (a Mars company) in 2020, the Marson family committed to investing heavily in Nevada and St. Louis, MO, injecting nearly $5 million in social impact investments to date. Serving Our Communities Foundation’s mission is to strengthen our community’s social sector leaders by advancing philanthropy efforts for the promotion of individualized and integrated health and wellness services.
