Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center gets $4.98M for new building

The Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center was awarded a $4.98 million grant to construct a new 9,000-square-foot building, the organization recently announced in a media release. The money was made available through a Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Community Development Block Grant and facilitated by the city of Burnet.

The advocacy center serves child victims of sexual abuse and their non-offending family members in a five-county area, which includes Burnet, Blanco, Lampasas, Llano, and San Saba counties. 

“This grant will allow the (Hill Country) Children’s Advocacy Center to expand critical services for abused children throughout our five counties who turn to us for hope, healing, justice,” said Kim Winkler, the center’s executive director. “On behalf of our board and staff, I want to express our deepest appreciation to (Burnet) Mayor Crista Bromley and the Burnet City Council for their continuous support of our mission, and to City Manager David Vaughn and his staff for their considerable time and efforts in making this grant possible.” 

The grant is part of the state department’s Community Resiliency Program, which boosts projects in low- and moderate-income areas as well as rural and small metro communities to improve access to social services and healthcare. 

The new Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center building will be located next door to the current facility on North Hill Street in Burnet. Built in 1994, the current structure will continue to be used as therapy offices. The center’s staff has grown over the years to include forensic interviewers, therapists, family advocates, and multi-discipline team, education, and development coordinators. The new building will include forensic interview, observation, and exam rooms as well as private waiting areas for families, meeting/training rooms, and office space. 

The need for expanded services has been driven by population growth in the five-county service area and the resulting increase in the number of sexually abused children who seek the center’s services. 

In recent years, the Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center has helped more children than ever before through forensic interviews, mental health services, and family advocacy services in addition to providing education and prevention programs in the community.

editor@thepicayune.com